Goa Congress demands ban on Sanatan Sanstha

The Congress on Thursday demanded a ban on the Goa-based Sanatan Sanstha, some of whose members have been arrested for allegedly killing and plotting violence against rationalists and writers.

Goa Congress chief Girish Chodankar said: "We have demanded this earlier and we are demanding it again. An organisation which kills and plots to kill people in order to eliminate their ideology, has no right to continue.

"Many people attached to these organisation have been arrested and we believe that the Goa government should decide on this soon," Chodankar said.

"We are going to ask the Governor for a ban on the organisation. Goa is a secular state and is a popular world destination. If such an organisation is promoted in Goa, our secular fabric will break and it will be a loss not just to state but to the nation," he added.

Police in Maharashtra and Karnataka have nabbed members of the Sanstha in connection with the murders of rationalists Govind Pansare, M.M. Kalburgi, Gauri Lankesh and others.

The Sanstha denies the charges levelled by the police.