In an interview to The Quint, Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s Secretary in Mangalore, Sharan Pumpwell, said, “If someone beats up girls who are dancing and drinking in pubs, then he is doing a good job. There is nothing wrong in doing that.”
Pumpwell, who is a former Bajrang Dal leader and is currently campaigning for the BJP in coastal Karnataka, went on to say, “If a young girl goes to a pub, she will dance and drink there, she will do drugs. There is a sex mafia in these pubs too. Can we just sit quiet and watch? Mangalore is a cultural place, with good sanskriti. That is why the youth want to put an end to such things.”
“Raising Public Awareness”
But Pumpwell wasn’t done yet. Next, he compared moral policing to “raising public awareness.”
Don’t you see the public service ads on TV, “drinking is injurious to health”. Why do they show that? Because they are raising awareness against drinking alcohol. They (the moral police) use the same technique.Sharan Pumpwell, VHP Secretary in Mangalore
‘Campaigning for BJP in Coastal Karnataka’
Pumpwell admitted that the VHP and the Bajrang Dal have undertaken a large-scale door-to-door campaign in coastal Karnataka to campaign for the BJP and “to ensure that only Hindus win here.”
In coastal Karnataka, only Hindus should win. That is why the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal are working for the BJP this election. We have appealed to all Hindus to vote only for Hindus in this election. We are going from village to village, from one household to another telling people, “Vote for Hindus, we need a government in Karnataka that supports Hindus”.Sharan Pumpwell, VHP Secretary in Mangalore
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