Conversion row: Congress in fix over House debate

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 12

A day after the Congress tried to corner the government in the Lok Sabha over religious conversions, party leaders seemed confused whether the conversions took place in Agra. Some Congress veterans feel that by demanding a debate on conversions, the party has ended up falling into the BJP's trap.

Chairman of the Congress' minority cell Khurshid Ahmed Saiyed said: "Where are the conversions? No conversion took place in Agra. This was a drama of the BJP, a mere enactment to divert the attention of the nation from basic issues." Asked how the Congress would fight the BJP politically if it was using conversions as a ploy to polarise the country, Saiyed said: "The BJP is resorting to such tactics to force us to talk on conversions."

Senior Congress leaders admitted that the party fell into the BJP's trap of alleged forced conversions. "They provoked us into a debate and now they have announced bringing a law to ban conversions. This was the BJP's well-planned strategy," said a Congress leader. The party admitted it would become difficult for it to articulate its stand on an anti-conversion law.

A majority of the Congress leaders feel the law is not necessary as forced conversion is already a crime under the IPC. The BJP used Congress' demand for a discussion on forced conversions to corner it with the offer of a central and federal law to ban conversions, they said. 

At a private function today, BJP chief Amit Shah appealed to all political parties to support the anti-conversion law. He said: "Except the BJP, no so-called secular party would come forward to support it." The socialist parties, including the JDU and RJD, slammed the proposal. JDU chief Sharad Yadav said: "Why would we bring a law when the Constitution gives everyone the freedom to choose a religion."