NEW DELHI: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Wednesday condemned attempts to “pressure the judiciary” and raised concerns over the religious minority status and the spread of jihadist ideology, as its two-day Kendriya Margdarshak Mandal (KMM) meeting concluded here. 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 DMK and Shiv Sena (UBT), to impeach Madras HC 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 seers 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”.
