The Opposition on Thursday cornered the government in the Rajya Sabha and said it would be pressed to move a resolution to condemn the statement made by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat hinting that Mother Teresa and her charity carried out religious conversions unless Prime Minister Narendra Modi gives a statement denouncing it.
The House had to be adjourned for 15 minutes after the Opposition members trooped into the well of the House protesting against the comments made by BJP member Vinay Katiyar during an argument with Trinamool’s Derek O'Brien.
Speaking during Zero Hour, Mr. O'Brien said the comments made by Mr. Bhagwat were an insult to Mother Teresa as well as the all the 43 Bharat Ratna recipients."The man who made the statement says she converts. Mother Teresa has also said that she converts a Hindu to become a good Hindu, a Muslim to become a good Muslim and a Christian to become a good Christian," Mr. O'Brien said, adding he would rather learn from Hindu scripture like Bhagwad Gita, but "not this Bhagwat".
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Even as Mr. Katiyar rose in protest; the Opposition parties joined forces to demand a statement from the government.
CPI(M)'s P. Rajeev accused the government of trying to carry out “de-iconisation” of certain individuals like Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru and now Mother Teresa; he said this is an attempt to create communalism in the country.
SP's Naresh Agrawal said the government is trying to hide its failures by making such statements, and unless the BJP makes amends issues like “Love Jihad and Ghar Wapasi” will not help them win elections.
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Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi's statement that there is “no doubt about the Mother Teresa's service and her work is not under any kind of suspicion”, did not pacify the Members who insisted on a statement from the Prime Minister.