No ban if Bajrang Dal behaves, says Veerappa Moily

Bengaluru: There is no question of banning the Bajrang Dal if it plays by the rule-book and behaves itself, senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily said on Friday, as his party's manifesto proposing to outlaw the outfit continues to come under fire from the BJP.

Veerappa Moily said the reference should be viewed as the Congress issuing some kind of a notice and warning to Bajrang Dal, and not as if the party is going to ban it if it's voted to power in the May 10 Assembly elections in Karnataka. On this issue, the former CM indicated that the Congress would adopt the approach of the then Home Minister Vallabhbhai Patel who, he said, lifted the ban on RSS after receiving an undertaking from the organisation that it would not indulge in "illegal activities".

The Congress in its manifesto for the Assembly polls released earlier this week said it was committed to take firm and decisive action against individuals and organisations spreading hatred amongst communities on grounds of caste and religion.

The party said: "We believe that law and Constitution are sacrosanct and cannot be violated by individuals and organisations like Bajrang Dal, PFI or others promoting enmity or hatred, whether among majority or minority communities. We will take decisive action as per law including imposing a ban on such organisations."

Moily said the "well-drafted" manifesto says organisations and individuals indulging in hate-crimes and illegal and anti-national activities would be severely dealt with and in that context PFI and Bajrang Dal were mentioned, and that the party would go to the extent of imposing a ban. "That does not mean we have done it, we are going to do it (ban)."