Opposition cited Mohammad Iqbal, Bhagwad Gita, Rabindranath Tagore and Charles Dickens, among others, to take on the government on the recent "forcible" religious conversions in Agra, allegedly by groups affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
The government retaliated quoting from Swami Vivekananda and Sardar Patel and said there can be "anti-conversion" laws in all states and Centre. "Let there be anti-conversion laws in all the states and at the Centre also," parliamentary affairs minister Venkaiah Naidu said replying to a heated debate in Lok Sabha.
He also rejected the allegations against RSS saying it was an organisation which believed in selfless service. "I feel proud to have an RSS background. Because of RSS discipline and background, I have come so far," Naidu said.
Several leaders of the Opposition, which had insisted on discussing the conversions in Agra, staged a walkout. Earlier, just as the debate began, after frequent disruptions, some BJP members chanted "Jai Sri Ram". Accusing the BJP-led government of pursuing a communal agenda, Opposition members raised issues like remarks made by Sakshi Maharaj about Godse, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj saying the Gita should be declared a national scripture, churches being vandalised and riots in Trilokpuri in the Capital.
Congress's Jyotiraditya Scindia demanded that prime minister Narendra Modi to clarify on the issue. "It is the government's responsibility to protect the Constitution." The BJP fielded Sumedhanand Saraswati to counter the Opposition as NDA members said Opposition was silent when Hindus were forcibly converted. Saraswati described the Agra conversions as a "simple incident" and said conversion was started by other religions.
Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy described imposing a religious text on everyone was "majoritism" and said it was now the government's responsibility to ensure that people are not divided.
SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, whose party is in power in UP, said the Agra conversions were not an issue in the region and asked since when Parliament had started debating issues based on newspaper reports. The BJP members applauded.
"If you want to do Shuddhi, try to purify milk, cement, food. Purify the system," said CPM's Mohammad Salim. Naidu, who described the Opposition charges as a stuck gramophone record, said some members were trying to imply that the government was responsible for these conversions but these had been happening for a long time. He said communal violence had reduced since BJP came to power.
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