Centre washes hands of conversion row, RS stalled

NEW DELHI: The religious conversion issue rocked Rajya Sabha on the second last day of the ongoing winter session, blocking transaction of any business while Lok Sabha witnessed disruptions through the day. In the lower House, the government asserted that neither it nor the ruling BJP had anything to do with conversions.
In Rajya Sabha, the Opposition demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s presence as a precondition to allow any proceedings.Launching the attack, JD(U)’s Sharad Yadav said while the government has failed to keep the poll promises, it found a new way. “They had never said there will be ‘ghar wapsi’ (conversion)… there are such incidents in some parts of Gujarat, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh … How long you will raise such issue forgetting the promises you had made?” he said.
Yadav also blamed the government for the House remaining paralysed due to such “divisive” activities. In support, CPM’s Sitaram Yechury said the PM had reached out to all during his Independence Day speech to declare “moratorium” on communal riots. Yechury said, “We are saying why 10 years. Let there be moratorium on communal riots and communal polarisation till India exists. But today we see things happening exactly opposite.”
Trinamool Congress’ Derek O’Brien sought a discussion on the issue. “We want the PM to come to Rajya Sabha. You don’t need 56 inches chest, you need a 4-inch heart,” he said. Deputy leader of opposition Anand Sharma also demanded PM’s reply in the House to the concerns of the members.
In Lok Sabha, opposition members raised the issue in the wake of media reports on conversion of 30 Dalit Christians to Hinduism in Kerala and demanded the PM’s response as “only his writ runs in the country” and he “holds the master key”.
Rejecting the demand, parliamentary affairs minister M Venkaiah Naidu said the government does not support conversion or re-conversion and if any individual is violating the law, the state governments are empowered to take action.
In the midst of pandemonium, the House witnessed a low with RJD member Rajesh Ranjan tearing a newspaper and throwing its pieces, drawing strong condemnation from the Chair.
But the issue finally saw the Opposition parties walk out, when their demand was not yielded to even after half an hour of protests in the Well of the House, with slogans like, “PM bhaag gaya... Achhe din kab ayengey?... Godse ka sarkar... Kaam karna shuru karo, desh torna bandh karo... tweeter PM jawab do... dharm parivartan ke naam par rajniti karna bandha karo...”
Opposition and treasury benches indulged in slanging match leading to two adjournments. Several parties, including Congress, TMC, Left, RJD, JD-U and JD-S, staged a walkout expressing unhappiness over rejection of their demand.
The disruptions also ended in the Lokpal bill being sent to the Standing Committee, after it had come to the House from the Select Committee. The Regional, Rural Banks Bill was passed with most of the Opposition having left Lok Sabha.