Togadia ends 'indefinite fast' on health grounds
Gandhinagar, April 19: Citing health reasons, former VHP leader Pravin Togadia on Thursday called off his "indefinite fast" and said he will now travel across the country to build pressure vis-a-vis his demands, including building a grand Ram Temple at Ayodhya.
Togadia had begun his fast here on Tuesday in support of the Ram Temple and other issues.
Togadia, a diabetic, said there was deterioration in his health and hence he was calling off his hunger strike.
"I am calling off my fast at the insistence of 'sants' who called on me. They have also asked me to resolve to work for the welfare of Hindus."
The former Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader lost three kg in weight. Doctors present at the fast venue feared that his kidneys could be affected due to fasting and require hospitalisation.
Togadia was demanding that Parliament pass a law to facilitate the construction of a grand Ram Temple at the site of the former Babri Masjid in Uttar Pradesh.
He said he will also campaign for an end to debt of farmers, employment for youths and women welfare.
"I will begin to travel across the country from this weekend," he said, adding he also wanted a ban on cow slaughter, revocation of Article 370 of the Constitution and resettlement of Kashmiri Pandits who displaced in the Valley.
Taking a jibe at the Modi government, Togadia said: "Those elected in 2014 have performed worst than those who ruled before 2014. I will work to build an alternative that works to meet the aspirations of the people."
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi "should, instead of travelling abroad, visit the homes of people" in the country.
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Kudupu mob lynching: Victim’s brother asks Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao to ensure probe is unbiased
Mangaluru: District In-charge Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao was handed a memorandum by Jabbar, brother of Ashraf who was allegedly lynched by a group of men in Kudupu near the city recently, requesting for justice to the family by ensuring the investigation is conducted in an unbiased manner.
The victim, Pulpalli Ashraf, a native of Wayanad in Kerala, was reportedly assaulted and lynched by a group of men playing cricket in Kudupu on April 27.
In his memorandum to the minister, Jabbar has said that several loopholes were found in the investigation conducted so far by the police in relation to the case. “The matter has been reported by media houses too. The police officials have not followed the procedure while filing the FIR and also in certain aspects of the investigation. Although the investigation officer and two constables have been suspended for the shortfalls, replacements have not been provided,” Jabbar pointed out and pressed for the immediate appointment of an unbiased and efficient officer to handle the case.
He also requested for an immediate announcement of legal compensation to the families of victims of mob lynching cases.
Jabbar further referred to the Supreme Court judgment in the Tehseen Poonawalla case that mob lynching cases should be handled by Fast Track Courts, and asked for a Fast Track Court to hear Ashraf’s case.
He said that this was the first case of mob lynching reported in Karnataka since the implementation of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) 2023. Jabbar demanded the immediate appointment of a Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) for this case and legal authorities to follow the apex court’s directives without fail to prevent recurrence of such incidents.
