RSS, VHP committed to make India 'Hindu nation', Modi yet to break silence on conversion row

Bhopal: Backing Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat's description of India as a "Hindu rashtra", senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Praveen Togadia said efforts will be made to "increase" the percentage of Hindus in the country, but skirted the issue of religious conversion.

He also said that Bhagwat's assertion of "Hindu rashtra (Hindu nation)" at the Kolkata convention is like a "gospel" for VHP.

"We are going to take percentage of Hindus to 100 in country. Currently there are 82 per cent Hindus in India, and we don't want this number to be halved. We won't tolerate Hindus becoming a minority in the country," Togadia, who is also international working president of VHP, said while addressing a function.

Togadia however skirted the issue of religious conversions during his address.

Alleging that innocent Hindus are "being converted" to other faiths by "allurement" including cash, Togadia said VHP will provide security to Hindus in the country besides whatever help they may need in foreign countries.

Even as these right-winged organisations continue to make such controversial remarks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is yet to break his silence on the issue. He has not spoken a word on the conversion row and has also directed his party MPs to avoid making controversial remarks.

Reiterating VHP's opposition to "Love jihad", Togadia said that his outfit wants to "eradicate the social evil of caste from Hindu society".

In his address to a Hindu convention in Kolkata on Saturday, Bhagwat had defended the current controversial campaign of the Sangh Parivar and dared the opposition to support a law banning religious conversions. He had also described the country as a "Hindu rashtra."

To a query on the issue of religious conversion, Togadia refused to comment, saying, "A raging debate is already going on in Parliament on this issue.

"VHP is awakening 100 crore Hindus of the country so that each one of them will get food, education, medicine and employment," Togadia said replying to a query whether the focus on religious conversions by various Sangh Pariwar outfits is at variance with the talk of development by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

(With inputs from PTI)