A 'conversion ceremony' at Agra
While the Uttar Pradesh police tried unsuccessfully today to locate a man called Kishore Valmiki, named in an FIR or police complaint filed against the alleged conversion of 57 Muslim families to Hinduism in Agra, a controversial letter surfaced in Aligarh, about 90 km away.
The undated letter was purportedly sent out by Rajeshwar Singh, the area chief of the Dharam Jagran Samanvay Vibhag, a group seen as affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS, to its members.
It seems to suggest a well organised strategy, stating that conversion programmes have been carried out in 20 districts of UP where 40,000 people have been "brought back". 2000 of these, the letter says, were Muslims and adds that this year's target is converting one lakh people to Hinduism.
The letters also says that the group's workers "spend about Rs 2 lakhs on Christians and Rs 5 lakhs on Muslim issues," and that money needs to be collected from people to be able to hold such programmes.
The Agra FIR alleges that the conversions were organised at Vednagar using inducements like I-cards for welfare schemes.
In Parliament today, a united opposition cornered the BJP-led government and forced a debate on the issue alleging the role of groups linked to the RSS, its ideological mentor.
They also asked the BJP to explain the statements of its MPs such as Yogi Adityanath who called conversions to Hinduism "gharwapsi" or homecoming, claiming that those converted had embraced Islam only some decades ago.
Adityanath has declared that he will go ahead with a similar event planned in Aligarh later this month to convert Christians and Muslims to Hinduism.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, while replying to the debate, accused the opposition of trying to defame the government and called for an anti-conversion law in all states as well as at the Centre.
Opposition members staged a walk out minutes before Mr Naidu concluded his speech.