Religious conversion will not be tolerated: Verka

National Commission for Scheduled Castes vice-chairman Raj Kumar Verka today said conversion of Dalits will not be tolerated at any cost.
He was talking to reporters here on his way to Rampur, where some members of Balmiki community sat on a hunger strike after the municipal board declared a locality of Balmikis as unauthorised and decided to raze to ground the "illegal possessions".
All those responsible for creating circumstances in which Dalits are forced to change their religion will not be spared.
"Since the day BJP government assumed office at the Centre and the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, the graph of conversion is rising day by day. Reports coming from Rampur have indicated that Dalits were continuously getting threats to embrace Islam else their tenements will be razed," Verka said.

Instigating any person to change his or her religion is an offence. Any powerful person involved in such matter will not be spared at any cost, he said
The Commission will initiate appropriate action against the district administrative and police authorities of Rampur who tried to suppress the incident, Verka added.