Togadia arrives in Guwahati despite ban on holding public meeting

GUWAHATI: Despite the city police's ban on holding public meeting, Pravin Togadia arrived here on Wednesday . He told reporters that Indian army should consider capturing a portion of Bangladesh and use that land to settle "50 lakh Bangladeshis" from Assam, if that country refuses to accept the immigrants after national register of citizens (NRC) is out.
Togadia who heads the newly-floated Antarrastriya Hindu Parishad after his ouster from the VHP, met city police commissioner Hiren Nath here and requested him to reconsider the ban on his public meetings from Tuesday to Friday saying that the stricture was violation of fundamental rights to free speech.Togadia arrived here on Wednesday and went to police commissioner’s office sporting black tap on his lips as a mark of protest against the ban on him.
"In 32 years of my public life, I have addressed thousands of public meetings even in Guwahati and several places in Assam. Nowhere there was a single incident of law and order disturbance," Togadia said.
Police commissioner said that given the sensitive situation especially when the NRC updating process is underway, the ban on Togadia is still in force.
Taking a dig at the BJP governments at the Centre and state, Togadia said the four years of Narendra Modi’s and two years of Sarbananda Sonowal’s rules have failed to free Assam of "Bangladeshi infiltrators".
"There are 50 lakh Bangladeshi immigrants in Assam. If Bangladesh does not accept them after the NRC, then the only option is that Army should capture a part of Bangladesh and that land should be used to send back the immigrants. At no cost work permit should be given to the Bangladeshis,” Togadia said.
Known as one of the stern critics of Narendra Modi, Togadia said he is ready to accept the Prime Minister as his "elder brother" if Assam is freed of "50 lakh Bangladeshis."
"If he (Modi) cannot, then he cannot be my brother," Togadia said.
Launching a broadside against the BJP-led state government, Togadia said that the saffron party has been "Congressized". He claimed that only 17 immigrants have been deported out of 50 lakh in two years.
"Yehan bhajpa ka Congressikaram ho gaye hain. Jis tarah mujhpe pawandi lagaya gaiya, Lagtah hain ki Tarun Gogoi ka Sarkar hain. (BJP in Assam has taken the line of Congress. The way I have been banned from attending public meeting, it seems former chief minister Tarun Gogoi’s Congress government is in power, not BJP's," Togadia quipped.