Sri Ram Sene not to support any party

Chennai: Sri Ram Sene, which shot into limelight after the January 24 attack on women at a Mangalore pub, on Saturday ruled out supporting any political party in the coming elections, including Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which it accused of "using Hindutva only to come to power".

"They (BJP) are using Hindutva only to come to power," Sene founder Pramod Muthalik told reporters on the sidelines of an interaction organised by a Hindu

outfit Hindu Makkal Katchi.

Asked whether the BJP government was backing the outfit in Karnataka, he said while his entry into Mangalore was banned, some of his supporters were jailed.

The Sene activists had stormed a pub in Mangalore in January and attacked women in an act of 'moral policing' against pub culture, triggering nationwide condemnation.

They had also threatened to disrupt Valentine day's celebrations.

Referring to the attack, he said, "Our intentions were good and was for a cause, but the method adopted was wrong."

In a sequel to the pub attack, he said the Sene would "target" liquor manufacturing units in future.

He also said his outfit would strive to create awareness among Hindu voters on a 12-point agenda which included demands for hanging of Parliament attack case mastermind Afzal Guru and implementation of Uniform Civil Code.

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