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Members of the State Forum of Minorities Organizations held a demonstration at Esplanade in Kolkata on Tuesday against RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s recent remarks against Mother Teresa.
Putting up placards with messages like ‘You are enemy of the nation… we condemn your game plan to polarise votes in the name of religion’ and ‘Mr Mohan Bhagwat! Prove your allegation or beg apology’, religious leaders condemned Bhagwat.
On February 23, the RSS chief said that the motive behind Mother Teresa’s service to the poor was to get them converted to Christianity.
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Dominique Golmes, vicar general and chancellor of Arch Diocese of Kolkata, said Bhagwat’s comments were to justify his organisation’s own agenda to convert people to Hinduism in the name of ‘ghar wapsi’. “He had said this justify ghar wapsi and his agenda. I am surprised that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who talks about secularism, is silent on this issue,” he added.
Claiming that such comments will only encourage those who believe in discrimination on religious lines, Golmes said: “Mother Teresa always wanted people to become better human beings, no matter what faith they followed.”
Convenor of the forum, Herod Mulick, said: “There is no need to defend Mother Teresa’s reputation because it will not be affected by what people like Bhagwat say. This way, they are only planting the seeds of fanaticism among simple-hearted people. We have gathered to condemn what he said and demand an apology…”
Mohammed Qamruzzaman, Jagmohan Singh Gill and Dr Swapan Mukhuty were among other religious leaders who took part in the protest.