Guwahati: Alleging that the madrassas (Islamic centres of learning) were the breeding ground of militants, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) international secretary Pravinbhai Togadia today (March 24, 2004) demanded that they be immediately banned.

"The madrassas have proved over the years that they train Islamic fundamentalists which is dangerous for the country and hence they should be banned," Togadia told a public rally.

Criticising both the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government and the Congress Government in Assam for not doing anything to scrap the controversial IMDT Act, the VHP leader said the Act should go as "it was protecting the infiltrators".

"There has been large-scale infiltration from neighbouring Bangladesh particularly to the Northeast region and this was threatening its demography," Togadia alleged.

"The problem of infiltration is gigantic and the need of the hour is to identify the infiltrators and push them back to their country," he said.

Togadia said as elections were round the corner, people should be alert of the leaders who would try to fool them.