Faced with an uproar in Parliament over reports of recent re-conversions in Agra, the Government on Thursday called for a uniform law both at the Centre and in all States to check cases of conversion and accused the Opposition of spreading “misinformation” against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
In a spirited defence of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar in the lok Sabha, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu accused the Opposition of indulging in “false propaganda” to malign the RSS and said he and his colleagues were proud of their Sangh lineage.
He said, “Freedom of faith cannot be allowed to become a licence for sustained foreign funded campaign for proselytisation, which has gained momentum in various States in the country in recent years. Tribals, Scheduled Castes and the poor belonging to other communities or classes seem to be the target of this proselytisation.”
Replying to a three-hour-long debate in the lS, which often witnessed a heated war of words between the Treasury and the Opposition benches, Naidu accused the Congress of maligning and tarring the Government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi with false propaganda.
“I am not going to spare you for this always. People of this country punished you and that is why you are sitting on this side. I will reply to all your false accusations and wrong statements,” he said. Soon after this, the Opposition parties staged a walkout, giving him a chance to deliver an unchallenged speech for around 30 minutes.
“We are against conversions. For so many decades, different parts of the country have witnessed conversions by allurement or coercion. Now, in some areas, people are coming back to their original religion. I am not going to go into details,” he said.
“You people have created an unnecessary issue to malign us by falsely claiming that communal tensions have grown ever since our Government came to power. But the facts and figures collected from States tell us incidents related to communal violence are decreasing. Today, I called the Agra District Magistrate and the Home Ministry also contacted the Uttar Pradesh administration. We were told there are no problems and the law and order situation is normal. You people, rejected by the country, have propped up this issue for political reasons,” he said.
Hitting back at the Opposition, particularly Congress and left parties, he said some people are allergic to the word Hindu and they target the RSS and the Government over any development that occurs in any State, ruled by any party.
On the recent re-conversions in Agra, he made it clear that the Centre had no role in dealing with it as it was a subject matter of the Uttar Pradesh Government and the local administration should take action. Putting Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav in a tight spot, Naidu said: “If needed, the Home Ministry can issue an advisory.”
Describing conversions and re-conversions as a “national challenge” as these create tensions, he said, “let us introspect. let there be anti-conversion laws in all States as also at the Centre so that all religious practices and beliefs are preserved. let us all seriously work towards progress.”
Initiating the debate, Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia alleged that Muslims were promised ration cards to convert to Hinduism in Agra and wondered if these were the “good days” the Prime Minister had promised. His attack on some Hindutva bodies connected to the BJP drew protests from the ruling party and the Speaker ruled that any reference to outside organisations would be expunged.
“What has happened is against the Constitution. They (BJP) are trying to divert the people’s attention from issues of black money and price rise by creating polarisation in society,” he said, referring to recent rows, including one involving Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti. He demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should make a statement on a grave issue like this as these communal problems were not confined to one State.
Saugata Roy (TMC) took potshots at the BJP, accusing it of causing “religious polarisation” and referred to a ruling party MP’s comment that Nathuram Godse was a patriot like Mahatma Gandhi, whom he had killed.
“I thought BJP is for Ram. I got to know that it is for Nathuram...,” he said. “You wanted power, you got power. Now it’s your responsibility to see to it that everybody lives according to the Constitution,” Roy said.
Tariq Anwar (NCP) said India is witnessing ‘Taliban-style’ decrees on issues like religion and clothes which is not good for the country.
However Mulayam Singh Yadav, who had earlier alleged that such re-conversions may cause riots in the country, said the conversion of Muslims in Agra was hardly an issue in the region and wondered if the discussion was really needed. Mulayam was obviously not ready to admit that the incident also indicated the failure of the SP Government. later, he also walked out during Naidu’s reply after Congress, left parties and TMC left the House.
Sumedhanand Saraswati and Rajendra Agarwal (BJP) accused Opposition parties of magnifying a “normal incident” and said conversion was started not by Hindus but followers of other religions.
Speaking on similar lines, Arvind Sawant (Shiv Sena) said these parties did not say a word when tribals in large parts of the country were converted to Christianity and raked up the controversial issue of “love-jehad,” inviting sharp retort from Opposition parties.
Asaduddin Owaisi (AIMIM) said Muslims were not scared of forced conversations and they would continue to follow their religion. He urged the Government to rein in certain Hindu organisations.
His remarks that the BJP has an umbilical cord attached to the RSS evoked a sharp response from ruling party members.
HD Deve Gowda (JD-S) said Prime Minister Modi has to see that development is all encompassing so that no one is left out. This, he said, would help him invite foreign investments to the country. Mohammed Salim (CPM) said the poor from the minority community are told that their conversion is the “antibiotic” for their “ailment”. His comments that by wearing saffron headgear, a person does not
become a ‘swami’ evoked a sharp reaction from BJP members. At least three BJP MPs wear saffron headgear.