Date:06/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/06/stories/2008100655641200.htm

National

BJP trying to make conversion main issue: Maoist leader

Prafulla Das

BHUBANESWAR: The Bharatiya Janata Party is trying hard to make religious conversion the main issue across the country to strengthen its vote bank as the Ram temple matter is no longer helping it arouse communal passion, according to a top Maoist leader of Orissa.

Holding the BJP, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and their associate organisations responsible for the ongoing anti-Christian violence in Kandhamal district, Communist Party of India (Maoist) State spokesman Sabyasachi Panda warned that targeting the minorities, particularly Christians, would cost the Sangh outfits dearly in the future.

Mr. Panda, whose party had threatened to eliminate 14 businessmen representing various Sangh outfits in Kandhamal district for allegedly instigating rioters, said veteran BJP leader L.K. Advani and top VHP leaders Ashok Singhal and Pravin Togadia were on their hit-list as they were “fanning communal passion in the country to garner votes.”

“We may attack Mr. Advani, Mr. Singhal and Mr. Togadia whenever we get a chance. They always come to meet the people with CRPF jawans,” Mr. Panda said. He was talking to a group of journalists from Bhubaneswar in one of the forested hills of riot-hit Kandhamal on Saturday.

“Forceful conversion”

Maintaining that his party was against forceful conversion by both the church and Sangh outfits, Mr. Panda accused the Sangh outfits of forcefully converting Dalit Christians and tribals.

“We killed Lakshmanananda as he did not pay heed to our warning to stop converting Christians and tribals into Hindus, and anyone who continues his work would meet the same fate,” he warned.

He charged that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was working as per the directions of the BJP, the VHP and the RSS. “Naveen Patnaik is operating as a BJP leader in Orissa. Without Naveen Patnaik there cannot be any BJP in the State,” he said. Mr. Patnaik, however, was not their target, he said in reply to a question.

To a query whether the CPI (Maoist) had large support from Christians in Orissa, Mr. Panda said it was a fact that many of the areas where his party had a strong base had a majority of Christian population.

He, however, said the situation was not similar in other States.