Two Hindutva groups in Rishikesh have said they wouldn’t allow any fashion show in the town and warned the organisers of such an event to be held on Diwali to immediately stop rehearsals and auditions.

Although the audition was suspended for a day on Sunday, the participants said they had taken permission from their parents and wouldn’t let the “self-styled vigilantes” control their lives.

Raghavendra, president of the Hindu Raksha Sangathan, said: “We had gone to a hotel in the town and asked them to stop planning the fashion show. They wear short dresses at the fashion show, which we don’t approve of. It is in sharp contrast to our culture and tradition. Let us be very clear that we will not let them organise this programme.”

Pankaj Chandani, one of the organisers of the show, said: “It is an annual event known as Diwali Mela. We organise a fashion show in the Diwali Mela every year and choose a Miss Rishikesh.
Some people on Saturday barged into the hall of a hotel where we were conducting auditions to select the models. As they were threatening us, we called the police. But these vigilantes have told us to stop the preparation immediately.”