Following widespread social media outrage and criticism, BJP national Yuva Morcha president and MP Tejasvi Surya on Monday withdrew his statements made at a program held in Udupi Sri Krishna Mutt.
"At a program held in Udupi Sri Krishna Mutt two days ago, I spoke on the subject of ‘Hindu Revival in Bharat’. Certain statements from my speech has regrettably created an avoidable controversy. I therefore unconditionally withdraw the statements.", the Bengaluru MP said in a tweet.
Earlier on Saturday evening, the BJP leader had said that Hindus should understand that only stopping conversion is not the way forward, but reconverting people who have left the Hindu religion should be the dictum.
Expressing his rightist opinions at ‘Vishwarpanam’, a valedictory event conducted at Sri Krishna Mutt, he said, ‘’Hindus must have the political power with them. The numerical strength decides the political power in a democracy. Demography decides the destiny in a democracy, The New Indian Express quoted him as saying.
"The only option left for the Hindus is to reconvert those who have gone out of the Hindu fold. Every temple and mutt in the state should set a year-wise target to take up reconversions.” Claiming it to be a historical fact, he said, “The invasion of Islam from the North was first successfully tackled by rulers of Vijayanagara Empire in Karnataka. They sent the ‘Mleccha’ or the foreign barbaric forces back. There cannot be a Hindu without Hindutva, which preaches the people to revolt against any assault on their religion.’’
Earlier during an interaction with some intellectuals, he said that the ancestors of present day Muslims and Christians were forcibly converted from Hinduism. “The Constitution begins with ‘India that is Bharath’. If India has to retain its essence, it has to be a Hindu majority nation,’’ he added.
