A screenshot of the viral video where editor-in-chief of Sudarshan News Suresh Chavhanke is seen administering a provocative oath in Ambala, Haryana.

New Delhi: Sudarshan TV head Suresh Chavhanke allegedly gave calls to make India a “Hindu Rashtra” at an event in Ambala, Haryana, on May 1, Sunday.

In a video shared on Twitter, Chavhanke is seen saying with others, “If needed, we will make or take sacrifice for it. But we will declare the country a Hindu Rashtra (‘Hindu nation’) at any cost. May our ancestors and deities give us the power to achieve our goal.”

According to the Siasat Daily, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Aseem Goyal was also seen taking the ‘oath’ with Chavhanke.

When contacted on May 2, Monday, Goel told PTI that he took the oath along with others at the event “as a Hindu and not as a BJP MLA.”

“I am proud to be a Hindu,” he said.

Chavhanke had made a similar speech at an event held in Delhi in December last year.

On December 19, Chavhanke at a Hindu Yuva Vahini event was seen administering an oath to a group of people to “die for and kill” to make India a “Hindu rashtra”. The video of the said oath was posted on Twitter by Chavhanke himself.

Last month, Chavhanke had again made a hate speech against Muslims in Burari. According to the Siasat Daily, he had said, “Indian Muslims should get the same rights what Hindus are getting in Pakistan. Nothing more than that.”

The event, or the Hindu mahapanchayat, was organised under the banner of the ‘Save India Foundation’ run by Preet Singh, a follower of militant Hindutva leader Yati Narsighanand. Chavhanke was invited as the chief guest for the event.

During the event, five journalists, including four Muslim journalists, were allegedly beaten up by a right-wing mob, The Wire had reported.

This article first appeared on thewire.in