On Sunday (April 24), BJP MP (Bharuch constituency) Mansukhbhai Vasava addressed a public gathering during which he demanded the delisting of converted tribals from benefits made available to the Scheduled Tribes (ST) community.
While slamming the forced conversions of Hindus, the tribal leader said, “These elements who break Hindu dharma and who are into religious conversion activities, if they don’t (stop) in a simple manner, then make a law for them!”
He further added, “Those tribal who are born in Hindu faith, to Hindu parents, if they leave the Hindu faith, then they should not get rights available only to tribals. You can change your friend, you can change your wife, it happens, but does someone change their own parents? Parents are parents.”
He pointed out that the ancestors of the tribal community were born and raised in the Hindu Faith. “Like you don’t change your parents. you can’t change your faith. You can change all but not your faith,” Vasava emphasised.
The BJP MP said that it was a matter of existence for the Hindus or else India would witness the emergence of Mughal and British rule. “Those who criticise Hindu Gods on social media, do they criticise Prophet or Jesus? I consider Jesus as God. He had done good work. But how do they have the right to criticise our faith, ridicule our Gods?” he inquired.
Mansukhbhai Vasava highlighted the menace of foreign funding and its direct impact on forced conversions. “Christian and Muslim religions are foreign dharma. This is a democratic country therefore these things go on. They work through foreign funds that arrive here to break this country. Foreign powers are working behind the curtains!” he had concluded.
Gujarat anti-conversion law
Grooming Jihad and deceitful mass conversions have plagued several parts of India, especially in the Bharuch city of Gujarat. OpIndia had earlier reported how as many as 37 tribal families were converted to Islam back in 2018 by luring them with promises of better jobs, money, and marriage.
While speaking to OpIndia, Pravin Vasava, who had converted to Islam and went by the name Salman Patel, till he reverted, said, “We were taught there is no such religion as Hindu religion and Islam is true religion.”
“Tribals are poor people. If someone gives some food grains, we believe they are nice people. Which is why people get lured to religious conversion,” Vasava had said while speaking to OpIndia.
In a bid to contain the menace, the BJP government had amended the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act of 2003 In June last year. As such, fraudulent religious conversions and marriages involving forcible conversions or assistance for the same were brought under the ambit of the law.
