The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Wednesday criticised the Nagaland Baptist Church Council, accusing it of attempting to create “enmity” between sections of society through remarks linking the organisation and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to violence.
The response follows a statement by the NBCC condemning an alleged raid by the Assam Rifles at a church in Nagaland, in which it reportedly said the RSS and VHP “promote and ignite violence”.
VHP president Alok Kumar said the remarks were “completely out of context” and did not establish any role of either the VHP or the RSS in the incident.
“We have seen a statement issued by the NBCC… Completely out of context, the statement accuses the RSS and VHP as organisations ‘that promote and ignite violence and justify such actions’,” Kumar said.
He asserted that both organisations are “patriotic and law-abiding” and work towards social service, particularly for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other disadvantaged sections.
Kumar alleged that the NBCC statement appeared to be a “mischievous and dishonest” attempt to turn a routine security operation into a religious or ideological controversy.
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He further claimed that references to the RSS and VHP were unrelated to the alleged incident and may have been inserted to frame the narrative “politically or communally”.
“The VHP condemns the averments of NBCC… included in a likely attempt to create enmity between different sections of the Bharatiya society,” he said.
The controversy stems from a reported late-night operation by the Assam Rifles at Samziuram Baptist Church and a pastor’s residence in Peren district of Nagaland on March 9.
The NBCC had termed the raid “unthinkable and unacceptable” and expressed concern over the incident.
Kumar said local authorities and the pastor had certified that no harassment or damage was caused during the operation.
He maintained that the allegations levelled by the NBCC against the VHP and RSS were baseless and intended to inflame tensions.
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