'Ban Bajrang Dal and face the consequences'

New Delhi: The Bajrang Dal, the youth wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), has dared the Indian government to ban it, warning that the authorities would face the "consequences" if it was outlawed.

"We will fight the ban and we will go to the people to explain the injustice done to us. The elections are coming up soon and it [a ban] will prove costly for the government," Prakash Sharma, national convenor of the Bajrang Dal, said.

The Hindu group has in recent weeks been accused of targeting Christians and vandalising churches in Orissa and Karnataka. A far more serious charge hurled at the group in recent times has been making bombs with a view to attack Muslims.

Sharma denied that Bajrang Dal members had anything to do with the violence in Orissa, where 35 Christians, mostly poor villagers, have been killed in an orgy of violence sparked by the gunning down of a Hindu leader.

He accused the media of portraying the Bajrang Dal negatively. "Are newspapers competent enough to tell the truth? They print anything," said Sharma.

Besides Muslim organisations, mainstream politicians too have started demanding a ban on the Bajrang Dal, whose members are known to resort to violence at the slightest perceived insult to Hindu religion.

Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar is the latest Indian politician to seek a ban on the Bajrang Dal, which takes its name after the Hindu deity Hanuman or Bajrang Bali.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, presiding over a Cabinet meeting, said the government needed to have a "foolproof case" if Bajrang Dal needed to be banned.