Corruption thrives due to 3 reasons

HYDERABAD: In an exclusive interview with Express, Vishwa Hindu Parishad International working president Pravin Togadia, who is in Hyderabad, spoke his mind on a host of issues which include corruption and Anna Hazare movement, tainted BSP leader Kushwaha’s admission to the BJP, Congress leader Digvijay Singh’s inexhaustive fulminations against the Sangh Parivar and money compensation from the AP government to ‘victims’ of police ‘brutality’ in the Mecca Masjid bomb blast case. Here are excerpts: Q) Several BJP leaders have spoken against the induction of tainted BSP leader Kushwaha’s into the party, more so, going by the anti-corruption mood in the country. Is the VHP too against his induction?A) Let the BJP decide on its image. They are smart enough to handle the matter. As far as the VHP is concerned, we are totally against corruption and the corrupt.Q) But senior leader Maneka Gandhi and Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath have come out openly against Kushwaha.A) Ask the BJP. I don’t want to comment more on the matter. All I can say is that VHP is against corruption. I think corruption thrives due to three reasons: lack of dharmik education and values, unlimited delay in administration and work in the present system and absence of effective legal deterrence.Q) Is the country’s political class corrupt?A) Corruption exists everywhere and also  among political leaders. There is no denying the fact.Q) Will Lokpal and Anna Hazare movement have a bearing on Uttar Pradesh elections?A) There is a strong anti-corruption mood in the country but this mood exists only in the upper-class and the middle-class people, but not among the poor living in  rural areas. To the poor the real concern is rising prices of commodities. We will have to wait and watch.Q) Why does Congress leader Digvijay Singh often take digs at the BJP, VHP and RSS, and links them to every issue including the Hazare movement?A) Digvijay Singh is our (VHP’s) marketing manager who is working without a salary. Without him, it would have been difficult to create awareness and awakening among the Hindu brothers. You see, if Mulayam Singh had not been there, Ram Mandir issue would not have had the kind of impact it had. So is the case with Digvijay. We have a slogan for him: ‘Digvijay, Tum Agey Badho, Hum (VHP) Tumhare Saath Hain (You move forward, we are with you)’’.Q) AP government’s move to distribute money to the ‘’victims’’ of police torture in the Mecca Masjid blast case has raised eyebrows in the political as well as police circles. What is your view?A) All Hindus arrested in different cases, whether they still remain in jails or have been acquitted, should also be given the same amount of compensation. If not, why is the government misusing public money? Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has murdered the country’s legal system. He should be prosecuted for it. Now, police officers will be scared of even investigating cases.Q) Is the demand for withdrawal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Jammu and Kashmir justified?A) The J & K chief minister is talking the language of Pakistan. How can AFSPA be withdrawn? Q) How does VHP view religious conversions?A) We now see a new trend as far as conversions are concerned. Now, reverse conversion _ Christians converting as Hindus _ is on the rise. In some places, it is still a matter of concern. VHP members are vigilant and are focusing on one area at a time, especially tribal areas, every week, and the trend is changing slowly.