File photo: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu
Spelling out the government's stand on the religious conversion issue, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday said the NDA government doesn't support any particular religion.
"I have said this yesterday as well. The government does not have any religion. Only individuals have it," Mr Naidu said. "And if the law is being violated by anyone, they must be booked under the law by state governments including Kerala, where the Congress still rules."
Mr Naidu was referring to Kerala, where the state government has ordered an investigation after 30 Christians were converted into Hinduism at a programme held by saffron groups on Sunday.
The BJP is planning to bring in anti-conversion law across the country under which conversion by force or enticement will be punishable under law.
The religious conversion issue had paralysed the Rajya Sabha over in the last seven days as the Opposition wanted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clarify if his government supported such re-conversion or "Ghar Wapsi" programmes.
On Saturday, adding to the controversy, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief chief Mohan Bhagwat seemed to justify some of these reconversion programmes when he said, "When someone steals my property, the thief is caught, my property is recovered and I am taking back my own property, what is wrong in it?"
The Prime Minister didn't speak on the issue and Mr Naidu strongly defended the government's decision. "The Prime Minister spoke when the Opposition wanted him to... when a minister made some comments outside the House... But on every issue, they want the PM to make a statement. What impression will it send about the ministers? The Prime Minister has full confidence in his ministers," he said.
Such arguments didn't have much of an impact on the Opposition, especially in the Rajya Sabha. For example, in the Winter Session of Parliament, Lok Sabha passed a record number of 18 bills but Rajya Sabha managed only 12.
Productivity of the lower house was 105% while for Rajya Sabha, it was only 67%. "I want to say that the government has majority in the Lok Sabha whereas the Opposition has numbers in the Rajya Sabha," declared Mr Naidu.