International working president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad Dr Pravin Togadiya on Tuesday alleged that an attempt was being made to silence his voice and open old cases against him.
Togadiya, who briefly went missing on Monday, was found in a semi-conscious condition near Kotarpur Water Works, late at night and was shifted to Chandramani Hospital in Shahibaug. Low blood sugar had resulted in his deteriorating health.
On Monday, Rajasthan Police had reportedly come with an arrest warrant against him in connection with an old case.
Addressing media persons outside the hospital, Togadiya said he had no complaints against the Gujarat and Rajasthan Police. He, however, asked them not to act under political pressure.
Interestingly, Togadiya addressed the press conference even before giving statement to the police. Earlier, the Detection of Crime Branch had formed four teams to trace him.
Questioned as to whom was he referring to when he spoke about his voice being silenced, Togadiya refused to speak anything further but said he would come up with evidences to prove as to who were trying to silence him.
Known for his fiery speeches, the 62-year-old, known as “Hindu Hriday Samrat” until the tag became associated with Narendra Modi, broke down while addressing the media.
Togadiya said he was not afraid of death. Initial reports had suggested that a person had come to Togadia's place saying that he would be encountered. He said he had not believed him. “However, I took note of it when I got a phone call,” Togadiya said, adding that then he went in an autorickshaw.
From what the VHP leader said, he went to “some home” in Thaltej (western part of the city) and tried contacting lawyers in Rajasthan. Before that, he had switched off the his mobile phone so that his location cannot be traced.
Togadiya also claimed that on speaking with the Rajasthan chief minister and the home minister, he realised that “Rajasthan had not sent any police to arrest him”.
He said that after deciding that he would present himself before the Rajasthan court, he was on his way to the Ahmedabad Airport when he started feeling uneasy and asked the auto driver to take him to Dhanvantri Hospital in Bapunagar. “Thereafter, I do not know what happened,” he claimed.
He requested the Ahmedabad Police not to search his room without him and the media. “I am not a terrorist and all that I have are bags of books, God and clothes,” he said.
Togadiya said that in any eventuality he would continue to stand for and fight for the issues of Ram Temple, rehabilitating Kashmiri Pandits, unity of the Hindus, cow slaughter and farmers getting money one and a half times than their input cost.
On Monday, angry VHP workers staged protests across the state after he went missing.
