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NEW DELHI: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) on Wednesday condemned attempts to “pressure the judiciary” and raised concerns over the status of religious minorities and the spread of jihadist ideology, as its two-day Kendriya Margdarshak Mandal (KMM) meeting concluded in the capital. Reference was also made to jihad as an ideological challenge beyond law-and-order.Amid growing political pushback against recent court verdicts touching on religious issues, the KMM objected to a proposal in Parliament, backed by the DMK and the Shiv Sena (Uddhav faction), to impeach Madras High Court judge Justice GR Swaminathan over a verdict seen as favouring Hindu interests, calling it an attempt to exert undue pressure on the judiciary. VHP international president Alok Kumar told reporters that 225 senior saints from across sects participated in the deliberations. On the question of minorities, Kumar said the Constitution grants special privileges to religious minorities but “does not define what constitutes a religious minority.” He pointed out that under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992, the Centre has the power to notify minorities. The Mandal, he said, holds the view that the term “religious minority” must be clearly defined, and that the issue should be debated to examine whether any religious community has historically faced persecution or social backwardness. Referring to census figures, Kumar said Muslims formed over 14% of the population in 2011 and that estimates now place it between 18–20%. “India is a secular country. Our Constitution rejects any discrimination on the basis of religion,” he said, questioning whether minority status should continue in such circumstances.On jihad, Kumar said investigations into the recent Red Fort blast showed the accused were “educated, from high-income groups, and socially well-established,” and claimed that a university had emerged as a centre for recruitment and indoctrination, with terror funding coming from abroad. He said jihad was rooted not in poverty but in “rigid religious fanaticism.”
