Don't ban Sanatan Sanstha, says Mahatma's great-grandson

Mumbai: Mahatma Gandhi's great-grandson Tushar Gandhi on Thursday opposed a ban on the Sanatan Sanstha, which is under scanner for the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, saying banning any organisation is "undemocratic".

"I am opposed to this culture of banning. Therefore, I oppose demand to ban Sanatan Sanstha. Banning any organisation is undemocratic," Gandhi told PTI here.

"I come from an ideology which is opposed to the culture of banning. I feel it is unjustified to ban anyone. It's better to prosecute them and penalise them," he said.

"When you ban anyone, you convert them into martyrs and as a result, they get more sympathy," he said.

"In this process, individuals get punished but the organisations go scott free," Gandhi said. This is the reason I feel the demand for a ban is anti-democratic," he said.

Gandhi's comments come in the wake of the Congress in Goa seeking a ban on the state based right-wing outfit, which is under the scanner for the rationalist Dabholkar's murder in 2013.

"The activities of Sanatan Sanstha should be banned from immediate effect. One of their seekers (follower) has been arrested by CBI in connection with the Dabholkar murder case, while another one (Sarang Akolkar) is on the run since the Margao bomb blast in 2009," a Goa Congress spokesman had said on Wednesday.