New Delhi: Despite the Prime Minister’s warming to members of the saffron family, including ministers and MPs, against crossing the “Lakshman rekha” by making controversial statements, RSS chief stoked the conversion row.
Addressing a rally in Kolkata, Mr Bhagwat, while defending religious conversion, said: “We are not involved in conversion but ghar wapsi.” For the RSS sarsanchalak, “Hindus are waking up. Hindus don’t need to fear anyone.”
Pitching for an anti-conversion law, Mr Bhagwat told the Opposition: “If Hindus can’t convert others, others should not be allowed to convert Hindus. Bring a law against conversion in Parliament if you don’t like conversion.”
Though the RSS chief apparently ignored the Prime Minister’s warning, his move to rake up the conversion issue was also being viewed as an attempt to mount pressure on the Opposition to support the anti-conversion law.
It was clear that the RSS chief’s statement might be going against the PM’s call to exercise restraint while talking about religious issue, but both the RSS and BJP-led NDA were working in tandem on the contentious anti-conversion law. The RSS boss went on to say that “Pakistan was once Bharat bhoomi. But now you see the conditions of Hindus there.”
