New Delhi: After a brief lull in the run upto the Lok Sabha polls, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) today (Apr 23, 2004) hit out at Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his promise to recruit two lakh Urdu teachers and provide Rs 74 crore for Madrasa education describing it as "insulting" to Hindus, Christians and others.

"The Prime Minister's announcement to recruit two lakh Urdu teachers and give Rs 74 crore to Madrasas is an insulting slap to all Hindus, Christians and others. All Madrasas teach Jehadi terrorism, which is claiming lakhs of lives including that of jawans and police personnel," VHP International general secretary Praveen Togadia said.

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"Even Pakistan has accepted that Madrasas are centres of terrorism," the firebrand leader said from Chennai.

He wondered why the Government was planning to provide a whopping Rs 74 crore to Madrasas when "schools in our villages do not have even power supply and blackboards".

"Playing with the sentiments of the poor and unemployed is inhuman. Will they recruit two lakh teachers for each of the languages recognised by the Constitution. Why only Urdu, why not Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, Telugu and Bengali?" he asked.

Vajpayee had yesterday (Apr 22, 2004) at an election meeting in the predominantly Muslim constituents of Kishanganj in Bihar, said that the Government has decided to recruit two lakh Urdu teachers to promote the language and proposed to make available Rs 74 crore for madrasa students.

Of late, the saffron outfit has been maintaining a discreet silence and avoiding attacks on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), apparently under pressure from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).