Lucknow, July 13: Brandishing firearms and swords, Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists held a protest rally in Agra against the terrorist attack on Amarnath pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir and gave a 15-day ultimatum to the government to avenge the killings.
A pistol in his hand, Govind Parashar, the Uttar Pradesh deputy chief of the cow protection wing of the Bajrang Dal, told reporters in Agra yesterday that the outfits wanted to send the message that they were not afraid of terrorists.
"Members of the VHP and the Bajrang Dal don't fear terrorists. We can fight them. We appeal to the governments (at the Centre and in the state) to take revenge on the attackers of the Amarnath pilgrims within 15 days. Otherwise, Bajrang Dal members will take charge of protecting the devotees of Lord Shiva in the Valley," Parashar said during the 11am protest at the Purani Mandi Crossing in Agra town, 350km west of Lucknow.
Parashar said his outfit was "disillusioned" because soldiers were being attacked and killed in the Valley "and the central government is watching everything helplessly".
"But we cannot sit idle when devotees are targeted by Pakistan-supported terrorists," the leader added.
Militants showered bullets on a bus carrying Amarnath pilgrims in Anantnag on Monday and killed seven.
Speaking to The Telegraph over phone from Agra today, Parashar said he and his supporters had brandished weapons at the protest, in which around 50 activists participated.
"I had a pistol in my hand. It belonged to a friend. Two protesters waved revolvers. They were licenced weapons. Some others had swords in their hands," he said, adding: " Hamne bhi churiyan nahin pehen rakhi hain (we don't wear bangles either)."
When it was pointed out that his ally, the BJP, was a partner in the Peoples Democratic Party-led government in Jammu and Kashmir, Parashar said: "They are in deep slumber and we need to awaken them."
Reminded that brandishing weapons in public was a crime, he said: "Why is this question asked to Hindus only? You ask this question also to those who are killing Hindus in the Valley."
Police officers in Lucknow parried questions on the Agra protest.
"We have seen the video footage of the protest on social media, but we haven't received any complaint from anybody. We need to act according to the existing situation," said an officer, requesting anonymity.
Yogi Adityanath, known to pursue hardcore Hindutva, is the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.
Bajrang Dal, VHP and BJP activists had in April attacked cops at Sadar Bazar police station in Agra's Fatehpur Sikri during a protest against the arrest of five party colleagues. A police vehicle had been set on fire. Udaybhan Singh, the BJP MLA of Fatehpur Sikri, had led the protest. The police had arrested 14 Bajrang Dal and VHP workers.
