Despite being one of the recent entrants into the saffron fold, Vidya Charan Shukla has become the first leader to sign the VHP's 11-point "Hindu Agenda."
The agenda includes a complete ban on non-vegetarian food, handing over of the disputed Ayodhya site to the "Hindu Samaj" and driving away Christian missionaries from India.
The VHP revealed that Shukla was ready to lobby for the cow as a national animal and the establishment of a 'cow service ministry.'
Shukla, who initially had tried to distance himself from the Sangh had said: "I have nothing to do with the RSS or VHP. I have joined the BJP because I am impressed with A.B. Vajpayee's potential as a leader." However, when Sangh leaders reacted and vowed not to campaign for Shukla, he rushed to the VHP's state president Ramesh Modi to express his solidarity. "Shukla strongly supports the Hindutva cause and we are sure that if he wins LS election, he would be a potential enthusiast of the Hindu agenda in Parliament. He may be new but he is very useful for the Parishad in achieving its goal", the VHP said.