New Delhi: Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu Thursday said the government will do all that is needed to maintain communal harmony in India and called for an anti-conversion law in all states as well as at the centre.
Replying to a debate in the Lok Sabha on alleged forced conversions in Agra, Naidu said the opposition wants to defame the central government and it was not acceptable.
Opposition members staged a walk out minutes before Naidu concluded his speech.
The minister said there was false propaganda against the central government on the issue of conversion.
"Let there be anti-conversion law in all states and at the centre. We are all one...there are laws in some states after they realised that fraudulent conversions are taking place," he said.
"This conversion or re-conversion is a very serious issue. It cannot be used for politics. There have been incidents in different parts of the country. The entire country has to introspect and find a solution," he added.
He said there were different religions in the country but the people had the same "jeevan padhati" (way of life). "This is Indianness. Some people call in Hindutva," Naidu said.
Naidu said the opposition had been proved wrong repeatedly on various issues such as communal violence and imposition of Sanskrit as a subject.
"We respect the freedom of faith. It is enshrined in the constitution. But freedom of faith cannot become a sustained campaign for proselytisation for foreign funded people," he said.
The minister strongly criticised the opposition for seeking to put the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in the dock.
"I have been associated with the RSS and it is the organisation which has taught me discipline and work culture. I cannot take uncalled for criticism and insult," Naidu said. The opposition staged a walk out soon after.
In his reply, Naidu said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government had been in power for about six months and it will fulfil its promises to the people.
"Some people have used the issue to target our government. We have just come to power six months back. Please wait for some time," he said.
"The government will do whatever is required to maintain communal harmony. The centre is ready to help states," he said.
Naidu informed the house that the Agra deputy commissioner had told him that there was total peace in the district. "Even Mulayam Singh Yadav has said it."
He also said law and order was a state subject. "It happened in Uttar Pradesh, it can happen in some other state also," Naidu said.
He said if an incident takes place in Uttar Pradesh, the state government has to take action and the central government can issue an advisory.
"You want to use the forum of parliament to defame my government, my prime minister. That is not acceptable," he said.
Naidu also defended Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani over opposition criticism of the functioning of her ministry and her visit to an astrologer, saying that she was performing her duties responsibly.
"Why do you insult other's belief," he said.
Naidu also took digs at the Congress, saying that Mahatma Gandhi had suggested that it should be disbanded after Independence and its workers should go to the villages.
Without naming the Congress, he said it was stuck like a defective gramophone which keeps blurring out the same words. "If you want to raise an issue, have patience to listen," Naidu said.
There were no charges of a scam against his government and the opposition should allow a debate in the house, the minister said, adding that he feels good if a young member from any party shows good articulation.
