Singhal crosses 'Lakshman rekha'; says reconversion process to continue

Ignoring Prime Minister Narendra Modi's warning to the Bharatiya Janta Party leaders not to cross the 'lakshman rekha' with controversial remarks, Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal on Wednesday claimed the reconversion programme was an ongoing process and asserted that it will continue by spreading love and on consent of such people.

Singhal also demanded that the Union government should come up with a strong anti-conversion law "to save Hindus from becoming a minority" in their own country.

He accused Muslims and Christians of wooing Hindus towards their religions and "being funded huge sums by foreign countries" for conversion.

"We would continue mass ghar wapsi (reconversion) programme by spreading love and on the consent of people, and not by creating tension among people. The PM had also said to party leaders to try and avoid tensions emerging from this," he said.

Singhal also advocated for a "uniform civil code" for Muslims and Christians on the lines of Hindus, and added that Muslims refuse to follow family planning that poses threat for the country as well as the Hindu religion.

He condemned the brutal killings of more than 100 school children by terrorists in Pakistan, and praised Prime Minister for asking schools in the country here to observe two minute silence.

On the crackdown by the Uttar Pradesh government on leaders of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh affiliates Dharm Jagran Manch, the VHP and the Bajrang Dal over the reconversion programme, Singhal said the rule of Samajwadi partly-led government was limited.

Commenting on the controversial godmen Rampal and Asaram Bapu, he said Rampal had "some objectionable items in his ashram" and he was "working against the country on behest of some foreign hands" while Asaram's work for the upliftment of Hinduism and drawing lakhs of followers was "appreciable".