Ahmedabad: Rejecting the appeal of the Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to call off their "padshahi yatra", the VHP (Vishwa Hindu Parishad) on November 15 said the yatra will commence as scheduled from Godhra on November 17.

Addressing reporters in Ahmedabad after a three-hour high-level meeting of the top brass of VHP and Bajrang Dal to discuss further course of action following Gujarat government's refusal to grant permission for the yatra, VHP international general secretary Praveen Togadia said, "I am going ahead with the Yatra to uphold the fundamental rights of Hindu society".

Referring to the Prime Minister's advice not to go ahead with the Yatra, the VHP leader said, "I expect the PM to safeguard the basic fundamental rights of Hindus and not succumb to pressure from secular forces."

"We are ready to face any consequences but we will go ahead with Yatra+, Togadia asserted.

Referring to Vajpayee's advice of not using Godhra incident as poll issue, the VHP leader stressed that "Godhra is the heart of Hindutva and it was impossible to forget the gruesome Godhra carnage."

"Godhra is the part of the issue," he added.

Giving details of the yatra, Togadia said before commencing the yatra from Science College Ground in Godhra, "puja" will be performed in Karnavati (Ahmedabad) in presence of Acharya Dharmendra Maharaj.

"I am Shivaji-protector of Hindu religion", will be the message of the "footmarch", which will stop at atleast 200 places in the entire 21-day journey, Togadia said.

He reiterated that the VHP has no plans to enter mainstream politics, even as there are reports that several of its leaders have demanded their 'pound of flesh' in the ensuing December 12 hustings.

PTI