DH Interview | Before voting think about the interests of Hindu society: Milind Parande

Founded on 29 August 1964, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) is now a 60-year-old organisation spearheading several projects across India.

The pran-pratishtha of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya on 22 January, 2024 is one of the major landmarks in the history of the VHP.

Issues like cow slaughter ban, putting an end to religious conversion, freeing temples from government control and expanding work to combat social evils are part of the VHP’s agenda as India moves ahead in Amrit Kaal.

DH’s Mrityunjay Bose catches up with VHP’s Organising General Secretary Milind Parande, who was in Mumbai for a brief visit.

“We are not telling anyone whom to vote for, which party to vote for. What we are telling people is to keep in mind the interests of Hindu society and vote. The interests of the Hindu society are in the national interest. And Hindu society is not detrimental to others’ interest,” Parande said in a freewheeling interview.

Following are the excerpts of the interview:

The VHP is a 60-year-old organisation. What is the road ahead?

We plan to expand to one-lakh places to mark 60 years of its formation. We are already in 80,000-plus places. We would, in the next three to four months, complete one-lakh places. We do not have traditional membership. Hindu sympathisers are our members. As of now we have around 72 lakh and this would cross one-crore soon. More and more people are interested in formally joining us. The pran-pratishtha of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya is an important landmark and the confidence of people has increased. The dreams of hundreds of years have come true. The focus of our work is health, education, employment, environment and women empowerment. We have over 5,000 service projects. It has been working tirelessly to promote and defend Hindu interests.

The year 2024 also marks the 18th Lok Sabha elections that is currently underway.

We are not telling anyone whom to vote for, which party to vote for. What we are telling people is to keep in mind the interests of Hindu society and vote. The interests of the Hindu society are in the national interest. And Hindu society is not detrimental to others’ interest. For the interest in the Hindu society, we want a party which is working in the interest of Hindus to come to power. I am repeating, the interest of Hindus is utmost and this is not detrimental in any way to others. We must remember that the Lok Sabha elections, which are currently underway, will shape the future of India for several decades to come.

What are you telling people?

We are telling people to vote. The voting should be 100 per cent. We are also telling people not to use NOTA as it is a vote wasted. We are telling the young people to get registered and become first-time voters and become part of the process.

One of the key issues that VHP has been highlighting is the government control of temples. How are you going about it?

None of the mosques or churches are under control of the government. Why should Hindu temples remain under control of the governments. We have set up a think tank comprising advocates, former judges, intellectuals, spiritual leaders and others to spearhead this cause. We are looking at how to go about it. Hindu money has to be used to Hindu cause. Donations made to temples should be used for Hindu causes.

What are some key areas where the government and people need to work?

The government needs to work on the cow slaughter ban and religious conversion ban. Yes, cow slaughter is a complex issue. However, we have to tackle it. As far as religious conversion is concerned, legislation and enactments are in place in some states like Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. You have to link this with the interests of India.

How would you describe the last 10 years of the Narendra Modi-spearheaded BJP-led NDA government?

A lot of things that we wanted have taken place. We have the Ram Mandir and the pran-pratishtha of Ram Lalla has been performed by the Prime Minister. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 has been passed. Work is on towards establishing the Uniform Civil Code. CAA and UCC are going to be big and go a long way.

There are a lot of misconceptions about the CAA?

Yes, people with vested interests are spreading it. We need to tell people how several people are going to be benefited. The CAA expedites the citizenship process for non-Muslim migrants - including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians - who migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and arrived in India before 31 December, 2014. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she would now allow it in her state. But, it is a central law and deals with citizenship, which is not in the purview of the state.