Far-right monk Madhuram Sharan Shiva, leader of the armed monks’ group Shiv Shakti Akhada, brandished and demonstrated weapons, urging Hindus to display arms during religious festivals instead of organising bhandaras. He asserted that Hindus and the nation are being destroyed through various forms of “jihad,” and declared that ending “adharm” would require eradicating “adharmis.” He accused Hindus who rent shops to, sell property to, or buy from non-Hindus of being “false Hindus,” and rejected slogans of communal harmony such as “harijan–Muslim bhai bhai.” Claiming that India is a Hindu Rashtra, he attacked Akhilesh Yadav for raising the slogan “Yadav–Muslim bhai bhai,” alleging that people who were not loyal to their “father, mother, sister, and brother” during the Mughal era could never be loyal to anyone. He insisted that power must remain exclusively with Hindus and Sanatanis for their protection. He branded Hindus who send their children to Christian missionary schools as “traitors,” urged that 25 per cent of the money spent on religious events be diverted toward weapons, and called on Hindus to carry arms to protect their faith. He further demanded that 18–19-year-olds be trained with weapons every night, claiming this would prevent stone-pelting from mosques during religious processions.