New Delhi: As the Agra re-conversion row hit Parliament yet again and the BJP government was accused of pursuing a communal agenda, union parliamentary affairs minister Venkaiah Naidu floated the idea of an anti-conversion law, amid a walk out by major opposition parties in the Lok Sabha.
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 religions practices and beliefs are preserved. “Let us all seriously work towards progress,” he told an agitated House.
Giving a justification for such a law and rooting it in history, he said, ‘‘It is well known that mass conversions happen by force. Sardar Patel, too, had admitted that mass conversions take place in India. I submit that we cannot tolerate this. We do not want that the numerical figures of Hindus and others to lessen.”
Implicit in this was a suggestion to the Opposition that the Congress should ask the states governed by it to enact an anti-conversion law, as has been done in various BJP-ruled states, to put an end to conversions.
Naidu also strongly defended the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh that had been targeted by the opposition parties. He said.
Some people were allergic to the word Hindu” and they target the RSS and the government over any development that may occur in any state, ruled by any party.
He also said: “What is the relation of this debate with the RSS? The RSS is a great organisation of the country, ready to render selfless service. I have RSS background and I am proud of it. The word Hindu is not given by Modi, Venkaiah Naidu or RSS. We are a party which believes in philosophy of India is one.”
The minister, who promptly conceded the opposition demand for a debate on the subject, also stressed that this is not a simple issue and needs wider debate, but the centre was ready to issue an advisory to help the states maintain law and order.
The debate has taken place in the backdrop of the opposition charge that at least 100 Muslims were converted in Agra by an RSS offshoot by force and allurement, which was a criminal offence. Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia initiated the debate in the Lok Sabha and got support from all the other opposition parties in expressing serious concern over the damage to the social harmony that was being caused by such incidents, especially with announcements from different places like Aligarh that the ‘ghar vapasi’ programme would be replicated in all other religions as well.
Scindia wanted Prime Minister Modi to come clean on these conversions by issuing a statement. “He (Modi) is the PM of everyone. He is the PM of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians. We want an answer from him,” he said, while attacking the BJP and the RSS for trying to change India’s history and culture. “They are changing history, they are changing culture, they are talking about Taj Mahal now, but not talking about the future,” he said.
“Are these the ‘achche din’ we were waiting for? Are we ready to spread viciousness among different communities for politics,” Scindia asked and asserted that government-backed organisations were planning conversion of Christians in Aligarh on the eve of the Christmas.
The BJP MP from Aligarh MP Satish Gautam confirmed that such a “conversion” event would happen in the city. He said: “We have been doing this for several years and will do it again on December 25. This isn’t a conversion but ‘ghar vapasi’ (home coming).”
Junior parliamentary affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told the Rajya Sabha that his government was opposed to forced conversions. “The BJP condemns and opposes all forced conversions….it is the Opposition that is behind them,” he said.
When a BJP member argued that the Agra incident was only a purification of the Muslims, earlier converted by force, CPM member Mohd Salim quipped: “If you want to do ‘Shuddhi’, try to purify milk, cement, food and the system.”
Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh also stressed that an anti-conversion law strikes at the constitutional guarantee of the freedom to practice any religion. This freedom is granted by the constitution, but there is a process for converting from one religion to another. BJP leader Bhratuhari Mahtab who went into the background of these laws at length explained that the district magistrate has to be informed before the conversion takes place and under the law it is the responsibility of the DM to ensure that there is no disturbance to public peace and order.
Digvijay’s colleague Ashwani Kumar too asserted that “every Indian has the right to choose his own religion, but if they are forced or misled to convert, it is a violation of Constitution.’’
BSP supremo Mayawati asserted that the government cannot shirk its responsibility as “it is the responsibility of the party that comes to power to ensure people are allowed to follow their faiths without facing any discrimination and ensure that forcible conversions do not take place.”
