The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has urged the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to allow it to assist the civic body in disposing of the dead bodies of Hindus dying of COVID-19. The right-wing organisation has accused the civic body of discriminating between Hindus and Muslims by allowing the latter and denying it (VHP) permission to dispose dead bodies of their communities.
"Today the whole world is affected by the pandemic and our city is also seeing a massive surge in the numbers daily. Unfortunately, many of our Mumbaikars have succumbed to this virus and have died," said Shriraj Nair, the official spokesperson for VHP.
Nair claimed that the organisation has been at the forefront from the very first day of lockdown, by helping mankind with cooked food, ration, masks, and hand sanitizers, amongst others.
According to Nair, the VHP has twice requested the BMC to allow it to assist the civic body during these testing times, but there has been no response.
"We requested that we are ready to provide manpower and all other possible assistance in providing a dignified cremation to the individuals dying of Covid-19 but yet we haven't heard anything. To our surprise, the BMC took no time to give permission to Raza Academy and even the most dubious organization like Popular Front of India, to carry out the services of cremating and allowing burial of individuals dying of Covid," Nair said, in an official letter of VHP.
The organisation claims that the civic body has clearly acted in a partisan and a selective way, with a motive of appeasement of a "particular community" under the pressure of some leaders.
"Further the claim of Bada Kabrastan officials that they have cremated more than 200 Hindu bodies is an insult and it ridicules the Hindu organisations who have been at the service of mankind such as the VHP," Nair lamented.
"We demand VHP be given permission to carry out this noble task in our dharma or else we will be forced to go in for agitations as per the democratic rights," the VHP threatened.
