New Delhi: Brushing aside Opposition criticism of its programme to distribute tridents as a "misinterpretation", Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on February 19 vowed to go ahead with it, describing it as part of religious practice.

After distribution of the tridents at Jaipur on February 18 and Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh on February 19, the sangh parivar outfit would organise programmes for its distribution among Bajrang Dal activists in Khera town near Aligarh on February 20.

"Either this has been misunderstood or has been manipulated," VHP senior vice president Acharya Giriraj Kishore told reporters on February 19.

Terming the trident as a "symbol of religion", he said the government cannot ban the practice of distribution as these were smaller than six inches and blunt objects.

The Rajasthan government tried to ban the programmes but failed as it did not fall under the purview of illegal activity as per rules, Kishore said.

The Ashok Gehlot government had planned to ban the programmes in Jaipur where VHP general secretary Praveen Togadia distributed tridents to thousands of Bajrang Dal activists but the programme went ahead.

Muslim groups have expressed concern over distribution of tridents and demanded a ban on it.

PTI