The outfit's website claims to have married off couples; 150 protesters detained after demonstrations against the sabha
Ashudh Desi Romantics organisation
New Delhi: Wearing wedding attire and carrying placards reading “Fall in Love, Not in Line”, around 150 protesters on Saturday gathered outside the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha’s office to protest against the outfit’s moral policing, but were detained by the police.
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These protesters, mainly from the Jawaharlal Nehru University Student’s Union (JNUSU) and from different organisations, gathered at the Mandir Marg office of the right-wing outfit, which had declared that they will marry off the couples who would express their love for each other by any “indecent” means.
Indian members of the Ashudh Desi Romantics organisation hold heart-shaped balloons during Valentine’s Day celebrations in Hyderabad on Saturday. In Delhi, students protesting against the moral policing of Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha were detained. Pic/AFP
“We are witnessing continuous vandalisation of churches, massive communal frenzy and cases of brutal rape. The government too has shown its characteristic apathy and inaction but when students’ groups organise a peaceful protest against moral policing, it takes not more than 10 minutes to crack down voices of opposition,” said JNUSU president Ashutosh Kumar.
However, these protests didn’t deter the Mahasabha from doing what they had said. The website of the organisation claimed that they have successfully married off couples at a wedding ceremony held at their Delhi office. “On this occasion we have also done religious purification(shuddikaran) of a few Muslim and Christian couples and have brought them back into the Hinduism,” the statement said. “We strongly believe that celebration of Valentine’s Day is an international conspiracy to destroy the Indian culture,” it added.
On Saturday, at noon, the protesters were detained and taken to the Parliament Street police station. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Jatin Narwal said that these students were released by 5.30 pm.