Religious groups hail Supreme Court ruling on caste, creed vote

Religious organisations across the ideological divide welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling on Monday barring political parties and candidates from seeking votes in the name of religion, caste, community, race or language. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad said that the politics based on caste, community and religion has harmed the country. "We welcome the decision of the Supreme Court," VHP International General Secretary Surendra Jain told IANS. He said the politics based on caste, language, region or religion has "harmed our nation very much", and added that "national integration has also been damaged by this practice".