Praveen Togadia exits VHP, former working president to launch new organisation for Hindu welfare

Soon after former Himachal Pradesh governor Vishnu Sadashiv Kokje was appointed as the international president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Praveen Togadia said that he will be launching a new organisation to work for the welfare of Hindus. [caption id=“attachment_1067759” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Praveen Togadia. Ibnlive[/caption] Speaking to reporters on Saturday, soon after Kokje’s election, an upset Togadia said that he is no longer part of the VHP. According to Economic Times, Togadia said that he will be floating his own organisation called Hindu Hi Aage (Hindus at the forefront), which will work for the welfare of “100 crore Hindus”. Meanwhile, soon after his election, Kokje proposed new names to take up crucial positions within the organisation including advocate Alok Kumar as VHP’s working president and Ashok Rao Chowgule as working president (external). Togadia vs BJP Togadia became the international working president of the organisation in December 2011 after he was nominated by his loyalist Raghava Reddy, who lost the election to the post of the international president against Kokje on Saturday. With Reddy losing the election, it was a given that Togadia would be shown the door, especially seeing the former VHP working president’s unceremonious relationship with the BJP. Togadia has been critical of the government over several issues including the Ram Temple, and his exit could be the Sangh Parivar’s way to get its house in order. Just last week, Togadia had accused BJP of making a volte-face on its 1989 Palampur resolution to enact a law to build a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya after securing the majority in Parliament. Stating that the party instead has decided to wait for the apex court’s ruling on the Ayodhya dispute now, he dared the BJP in a news conference, “Now there is a full majority in Parliament. Pass the law on Ram temple without any delay and stop fooling the majority.” Hitting out at both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, Togadia had also said that neither did any development take place, nor was the Ram Temple built in the last four years by the government, which, he said, has failed on all fronts. With inputs from PTI