The Bajrang Dal, the youth wing of theVishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), has dared the Indian government to ban it, warning that the authorities would face the "consequences" ifit was outlawed.

"We will fight the ban and we will go to the people to explain the injustice done to us. The elections are coming up soon and it (a ban) will prove costly for the government," Prakash Sharma, national convenor of die Bajrang Dal, told IANS.