The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other right-wing organisations intensified their attack on the Congress over its manifesto for Karnataka Assembly elections in which it has pledged to ban Bajrang Dal in the state. Linking the proposed ban on Bajrang Dal with alleged disrespect of Lord Hanuman, BJP workers on Friday gathered outside the Congress party office in Hyderabad to recite Hanuman Chalisa but were detained by the police.

The Congress party, meanwhile, appeared to go on the defensive to mitigate any potential damage from its manifesto promise to ban Bajrang Dal in Karnataka, with Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar doing a temple run at Chamundi Hill in Mysuru, and promising to build more Hanuman temples or renovate the existing ones all over the state.

“The temples of Lord Rama’s escort Anjaneya (Hanuman) are everywhere. We have constructed Anjaneya temples, and we too are his devotees, especially we Kannadigas in this state, where there is evidence to show that Anjaneya was born here,” Shivakumar, who is contesting the election from Kanakapura constituency in Ramanagara, told reporters.

Senior Congress leader and former Karnataka chief minister Veerappa Moily said there was no suggestion before the party to ban the Bajrang Dal. Addressing reporters in Udupi, Moily also said that state governments did not have the right to ban such organisations.