Before preaching, Obama should stop ‘atrocities on blacks’, says VHP

New Delhi: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Friday launched a sharp attack against US President Barack Obama, saying he should not "preach" India on religious tolerance and instead take care of his country which was still witnessing "atrocities" against blacks.

Talking to reporters, VHP joint general secretary Surendra Jain alleged that Obama's comments came after "meeting certain people planted by the Church to help the activities of missionaries".

He also demanded that the government should disclose the names of such people on whom there is suspicion that they have been "planted by the Church" in politics.

The VHP leader said before "preaching" India, Obama should look in his own backyard in the US and even if he wants to preach, he should do so to "Christian missionaries who with the help of America are not only doing religious conversions, but one of its sections is also also involved in anti-national activities".

Jain added, "He (Obama) is himself black. Despite that, he has not been able to stop the atrocities being committed on blacks."

The VHP leader's remarks came after the US president said in Washington that the "acts of intolerance" experienced by religious faiths of all types in India in the past few years would have shocked Mahatma Gandhi.

During his visit to India last week also, Obama had made a strong pitch for religious tolerance, cautioning that India will succeed so long as it was not "splintered along the lines of religious faith".

Noting that all religions have got equal rights in India, Jain said the Prime Minister does not take oath from any saint or bishop in India as was done in US. "The rule is equal for all religions and India's tradition has been to absorb everybody and not to exploit," he said.