'Baseless': VHP Denies Delhi Police's Claim of 'No Permission' for Shobha Yatra

"I urge the Delhi CP not to come under pressure from secular and Muslim leaders," the VHP Delhi president said.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) said on Tuesday, 19 April, that claims made by the Delhi Police that the outfit had not taken prior permission to take out a procession in Jahangirpuri on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti were "baseless".

This comes after the police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against one member of the Delhi unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and one member of the Delhi unit of the Bajrang Dal for organising a Shobha Yatra on Hanuman Jayanti in Jahangirpuri on the evening of Saturday, 16 April, “without permission of the police”.

"The Delhi CP’s (Commissioner of Police Rakesh Asthana's) statement that the shobha yatra was taken out without permission is baseless. We all know that the Delhi Police never gives anyone permission to take out processions. If they feel a certain procession should not be taken out, it writes to the concerned organisation to cancel it," Kapil Khanna, the VHP Delhi president said in a statement.

He further said that the police had sent a letter to the organisation, asking them to cancel a shobha yatra only in Shahdara on 17 April, which they agreed to do.

Police Didn't Ask Us to Cancel Jahangirpuri Rally: VHP

Khanna claimed that the organisation had informed two police stations in writing that a shobha yatra would be undertaken on Hanuman Jayanti and had specified the areas through which it would pass. He added that the police did not convey any information to them regarding cancelling the yatra.

"Information about 20 such processions in the city had also been sent to the police headquarters. Delhi police did not inform us about any of these processions being cancelled by them," he said.

The VHP Delhi president also alleged that the police only provided three personnel to protect 1,000 participants in the procession.

'Met Delhi CP Asthana on 17 April' 

Khanna added that he had met CP Asthana on 17 April. "He told us that when I tell you that a certain area is sensitive and you must not take out processions through it, you don’t listen to us," Khanna said, adding that he told Asthana in response that the whole of Delhi would become sensitive if one thinks in this way.

"If we are going to divide Delhi into Hindu and Muslim areas, then tomorrow when Muslims take out Tazia processions, are we going to say it should not cross Hindu areas? He understood and changed his stand," he claimed.

Khanna also said that a leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) named Ansar was to blame for allegedly conspiring to attack the procession with the help of "Bengali and Rohingya Muslims", adding that this matter was also mentioned in the FIR.

'Police Filed FIR Under Pressure from Kejriwal, Owaisi'

He also said that the police filed the FIR after coming under pressure from "secular" and "Muslim" leaders.

"I urge Delhi CP not to come under pressure from secular and Muslim leaders," Gupta added.

Khanna alleged that the police changed its stance after being pressured by Muslim leaders like All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi as well as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

"It is clear that the Delhi Police is working under pressure from leaders such as Owaisi and Kejriwal. To balance the arrest of culprits, it is arresting innocent Hindus," Khanna said.

The statement added that the police could not stop Hindu outfits from celebrating festivals, as it is their constitutional right to do so. "You cannot deprive us of our constitutional right to celebrate Hindu festivals. We are determined to rid Delhi of Jihadi attacks and we will reach our goal," Khanna concluded by saying.