The Hindu

• ‘Home Minister has not dealt sternly with those who attacked prayer halls’

Mangalore, Sep 26: Former MLA and leader of Communist Party of India (Marxist) G.V. Sriram Reddy has criticised the delegation, led by the seer of the Pejawar Math Vishwesha Teertha, that submitted a memorandum to the Governor demanding an end to religious conversions.

“He is not the sole representative of Hindus in the State. His views do not reflect our beliefs. When did he receive the power of attorney for all Hinduism?” Mr. Reddy asked at a protest meeting organised by his party against the attacks on Churches and prayer halls in the State.

Mr. Reddy challenged the seer to furnish “a single case of forcible conversion registered with a police station in India since independence”. Hinduism was a religion of peace and tolerance and there was a perceptible difference between spiritual Hinduism and politically motivated Hindutva.

“Militant pontiffs with political affiliations are a drain on the moral beliefs of the practitioners of any religion,” he said.

On the purported remarks of the seer about the alleged evangelical activities of Christian missionaries he said Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus had the right to persuade other people to share their beliefs and ideals.

“The Pejawar seer himself is involved in spreading the message of Hinduism. Does he mean that the right to spreading the Hindu faith, which is being exercised in foreign countries to the hilt by the Vishwa Hindu Parishat, be curtailed?” he asked.

Referring to the seer’s affiliation to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishat Mr. Reddy said: “If the Pejawar seer is truly an ascetic, he should have retreated to a life of spiritualism and not taken active part in politics.”

Stating that there were greater threats to the Hindu faith than conversions, he questioned propriety of the seer not leading a delegation to the Governor against atrocities against Dalits in the State. He said Home Minister V.S Acharya had not dealt sternly with those involved in the attacks on prayer halls. “As a Home Minister he should provide security to everybody, irrespective of their caste, creed and political affiliations,” he said.

Communalism, terrorism and unbridled capitalism had created a deep unrest in the country. “People in this country are so insecure today that they are afraid to step out of their houses. This is how Europe must have looked when Nazism and fascism was on the rise,” Mr. Reddy said.

Alleging that the executive wing of democracy had surrendered to communalism, he said that Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada M. Maheshwar Rao had lost the gumption to resist the devious schemes of the current political dispensation. “As a young officer, he displayed impeccable commitment and a strain of being proactively secular. Today, he has compromised on his ideals and is echoing the rhetoric of the ruling party,” he said.