Even as the BJP has been promoting the idea of passing a central anti-conversion law, Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan said on Tuesday that the existing laws relating to religious conversions are sufficient.
This comes in the wake of the raging controversy over religious conversions and re-conversions or ghar vapsi as the BJP’s sister organisations have named it. “The existing laws regarding conversion are sufficient,” Mr. Paswan, president of key BJP ally, the Lok Jan Shakti Party, said. He, however, chose to vociferously defend the government over the conversion row, stressing that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had never encouraged Hindutva groups nor made any communal statements after coming to power last May.
“Those, who are talking about it are not in government,” Mr. Paswan said. “Neither the government nor has Prime Minister Modi talked about issues like Ram Temple, Article 370,
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Interestingly, Mr. Paswan had been a Minister in the Congress-led UPA government between 2004 and 2009. He switched over to the NDA last year.
Ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections slated for end of the year, Mr. Paswan also launched a frontal attack on the Janata Parivar.