Congress condemns Bajrang Dal's annual defence camp, accuses BJP of 'polarizing'

The Congress Party on Tuesday condemned the recently concluded annual self-defence camp organised by the Bajrang Dal in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya city and said it was an attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to polarize the situation in the state where assembly polls are scheduled to be held next year.

"There is no use of making this kind of environment in the nation. The BJP people will now do these kinds of activities everyday to polarise the situation as elections are round the corner in Uttar Pradesh," Congress leader Meem Afzal told ANI.

"Instead of trying to polarize the situation, they should instead work for the betterment of the country," he added.

Another Congress leader Shobha Oza said that the Samajwadi Party Government in the state should immediately put a ban on such institutions and the organizers of such camps must be arrested.

"I think such institution should be banned by the Uttar Pradesh Government. They must be arrested and stringent action should be taken against them," Oza told ANI.

She also accused the ruling NDA regime at the Centre of promoting such events and said that this was an attempt by the BJP to increase its vote bank.

In the annual self-defence camp, the Bajrang Dal cadres are trained to use rifles, swords and sticks so that they can 'protect the Hindus.

Similar camps would be held till June 5 in Sultanpur, Gorakhpur, Pilibhit, Noida and Fatehpur cities in the state.

The cadres can be seen killing men dressed as Muslims during the mock drill.

Manoj Verma, the organizer, said the cadres are given a lot of boost during the camps.

"We prepare them to boost their self-esteem. This training is of self-defence. They are taught to tackle different situations. This is about self-confidence," Verma said.

"This whole annual program is about boosting the self-confidence and morale of the cadres," he added.

Bajrang Dal, which is the youth wing of Vishva Hindu Parishad, has faced allegations of rioting and violence against religious minorities in the past.

The poll for the 403-member Assembly in Uttar Pradesh is likely to be held early 2017.