(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reform agenda suffered a setback yesterday as protests erupted in parliament and in the streets over a campaign by Hindu hardliners linked to his party to convert Muslims and Christians to Hinduism.
Opposition members threw papers and swarmed to the centre of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament, forcing the suspension of the session and effectively preventing the government from tabling a bill to increase foreign participation in the insurance sector.
The long-pending insurance legislation to raise the cap on foreign investment to 49% from 26%, and another bill to replace a decree to overhaul the coal sector, were considered low-hanging fruits that Modi hoped to push through parliament's winter session, which ends today.
But comments by the head of the rightwing Hindu group, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, that India was a "Hindu nation" provoked a storm of criticism, snuffing out any chance of opposition support for government business in the Rajya Sabha, where Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party lacks a majority.
The main opposition Congress staged a walkout from the Lok Sabha, the lower house, over the issue.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said neither the government nor the BJP was involved in such acts and the state governments should take action if anyone violates the law.
He said the government does not support conversion or re-conversion.
"The government is nowhere in the picture, the party (BJP) is nowhere in the picture. If any individual does it, action has to be taken by the state government," he said.
"This is an attempt to divide the society," Janata Dal (United) leader and former Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar told hundreds of people at a protest in New Delhi, referring to religious conversions.
"The government is not capable of resolving the core issues of our country, so they want to divide the society and distract people."
Modi is facing a backlash for not doing enough to rein in hardline affiliate groups that have become emboldened in their pursuit of a Hindu-dominant agenda, threatening India's secular foundations, critics say.
Trouble erupted this month after a group of Muslims complained they had been tricked into attending a conversion ceremony by Hindu groups. A Hindu priest-turned-lawmaker of Modi's party had planned a mass conversion ceremony on Christmas Day, but that has been put off.
However, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) yesterday vowed to convert 200 Christians to Hinduism in Kerala on Christmas Day.
Aneesh Balakrishnan, the co-ordinator of VHP's helpline to prevent conversions of Hindus, said his office had received nearly 200 requests for conversions at various centres it runs in the state.
"We have also received a few requests from Muslim converts as well. We intend to step up our efforts to bring back more people to their original faith," Balakrishnan, who also campaigns against interfaith marriages, said in Thiruvananthapuram.
But president of the Kerala unit of the Congress V M Sudheeran warned people against "organised efforts at conversions" by Hindu fundamentalist groups aimed at "communal polarization."
"Everybody should unite against it. This is an attempt to divide people on communal lines. All secular parties should come together and defeat it," he said. "This is a place where different communities live in harmony."
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.