HVK Archives: Fraud, lure, fear used for conversion: Govindacharya
Fraud, lure, fear used for conversion: Govindacharya - The Economic Times
Political Bureau
()
February 11, 1999
Title: Fraud, lure, fear used for conversion: Govindacharya
Author: Political Bureau
Publication: The Economic Times
Date: February 11, 1999
In what could jettison Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's efforts to
spruce up lets government's image which got a battering after the
attacks on Christians in Orissa and Gujarat, the conservative core of
the BJP has rejected the demand for a moderation in its stance.
BJP general secretary K N Govindacharya - who took upon himself the task
of ventilating the saffron brotherhood's viewpoint - alleged that
Christians use fraud, allurement and fear to bring about religious
conversions. Recently an agency report from Bhopal quoting Mr
Govindacharya said that the Church is well-known as a "semi-political
and commercial organisation".
He said Christianity discriminated between believers and non-believers
and the concept of tolerance was alien to Christian faith.
The BJP general secretary claimed that as per a recent book, Christians
had set for themselves a target of making at least 51 per cent of the
world's population Christian by the year 2000.
The views of Mr Govindacharya - who is on deputation from the RSS - are
significant in the saffron scheme of things as it indicates the refusal
of the Sangh to accept a moderate political stand on the conversion
issue. The RSS, which is active in the tribal regions of the country,
is on the warpath against Christians as their activities often coincide
with that of the Church.
This do not augur well for the prime minister and his establishment as
Mr Govindacharya's statement may give the political opponents of the
government a handle to beat it with. While the government has failed to
rein in on the militant arms of the Sangh, a belligerent VHP has
announced an action plan for opposing activities of the Church.
In the event of the VHP and other Sangh offshoots upping their ante, it
can aggravate problems for the prime minister within the coalition.
For, the prime minister and the BJP had agreed to "ensure that the
prestige and cohesiveness of the coalition are not diluted by
organisation belonging to its ideological fraternity" at the last
meeting of the coalition's coordination panel. The coalition allies,
who have made it a routine to strike at the government, may see the
anti-minority agenda of the VHP and other sister outfits as a potent
issue to get back at Mr Vajpayee.
The goings on in the BJP have helped the Congress government in Orissa
as the focus of attention continues to be on the BJP and the RSS.
Back
Top
|
