Pramod Muthalik, founder of the Sri Ram Sene that attacked women in a Mangalore pub in January this year, was in New Delhi yesterday. He addressed “over a hundred delegates” of Hindu organisations at a meeting held at an “ashram” in Paharganj, near the New Delhi railway station, before slipping out of the Capital today.

Muthalik, who has earned notoriety for attacking pubs, vandalizing churches, and making inflammatory speeches across Karnataka, held forth on his “Hindu agenda” before his audience — a gathering of representatives from fringe organisations having past associations with the RSS, and in some cases, the BJP’s student arm, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

While Muthalik has addressed several meetings in the southern states and Maharashtra in the past, this was his first foray into the national capital.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central District) Jaspal Singh — in whose jurisdiction the venue for Muthalik’s meeting lies — said “he was not aware of Muthalik’s presence in Delhi”.

Karnataka Home Minister V S Acharya told The Indian Express, “Muthalik is facing around 40 cases in the state. But I don’t know why he went to Delhi”.

The “delegates” who attended the meeting at Muthalik’s invitation, provided some details of what transpired.

Muthalik is said to have told them: “Pubs, Valentine’s Day, and universities will stay high on our priority list. We now need to focus on the plight of the Hindus in countries like Sri Lanka and Malaysia as well. We have constituted a 15-member body to coordinate our activities across the country.”

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