BJP seeks secular parties' support on anti-conversion bill

Asserting that his party was against conversions and re-conversions, BJP president Amit Shah has sought the support of the "secular parties" on bringing an anti-conversion bill.

"We are against forceful conversions and re-conversions. Neither our party nor the NDA government is involved in the 'ghar wapsi' (return home) programme. We seek support of the so-called secular parties for a strong legislation against conversions," Shah told reporters here.

Regretting that no secular party had come forward to introduce the anti-conversion bill, he said the Bharatiya Janata Party was in favour of such a law to check conversions.

"There is a need for a strong anti-conversion law to prevent conversions by anyone, be they Christians, Muslims or Hindus," Shah said while appealing to all parties to support the government in enacting a law against conversions.

Noting that the BJP had nothing to do with the 'ghar wapsi' programme of some Hindu right-wing groups, Shah said his party did not believe in such conversions.

The Dharma Jagran Samiti was allegedly behind the forceful conversions of about 250 Muslim families to Hinduism in Uttar Pradesh in November.

Later, BJP sources told IANS that the Dharma Jagran Samiti had been told to refrain from such conversions on advice from the Narendra Modi government this week.