NEW DELHI, INDIA, February 19, 2003: Brushing aside opposition criticism of its program to distribute tridents as a “misinterpretation,” the VHP on Wednesday vowed to go ahead with it, describing it as part of religious practice. After distribution of the tridents at Jaipur on Tuesday and Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, the Sangh Parivar plans to organize programs for its distribution among Bajrang Dal activists in Khera town near Aligarh on Thursday. “Either this has been misunderstood or has been manipulated,” VHP senior vice president Acharya Giriraj Kishore told reporters on Wednesday. Terming the trident as a “symbol of religion,” he said the government cannot ban the practice of distribution as these were smaller than six inches and blunt objects. The Rajasthan State Government tried to ban the tridents “but failed as it did not fall under the purview of illegal activity as per rules,” Kishore said.
A daily summary of world news for Hindus and non-Hindus alike