December 14, 2025 03:55 pm (IST)
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RSS Hinduism pitch triggers TMC reaction
Kolkata, Dec 21 (IBNS): The war of words over conversion is not only roiling the Parliament, but also the political battlefield of West Bengal, where the ruling Trinamool Congress is engaged in a turf battle now with the saffron group with the rising popularity of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
So when Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Saturday in a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) rally in Kolkata said that those who left Hinduism due to allurement by others should be brought back (read reconverted to Hinduism), the TMC was the first to hit back.
TMC has condemned the rally by VHP at Shahid Minar here and said a section is playing religious politics in Bengal.
Senior Trinamool leader Subrata Mukherjee on Saturday flayed the alleged divisive politics "being practiced by a section of people in Bengal."
At a press conference at the Trinamool Bhavan in Kolkata, he said, "Bengal does not discriminate among people on the basis of caste, creed or religion."
He added, "When millions of people came across the border in 1971 we gave them shelter. This is the greatness of Bengal. We abhor the politics of division. There is no place for even parochialism in Bengal."
Terming the rally by VHP a "Black Day" for Bengal, he said "Shahid Minar has a heritage. Never before has a dangabaaj [rioters] rally been held there."
Mukherjee, who is also the rural development minister, added, "We work for poor people. We do not discriminate between anyone on the basis of religion."
He urged the people of Bengal to uphold the tradition of the state and reject the divisive politics and protect the cultural unity of Bengal.
This comes after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat at the Kolkata rally fomented the debate over conversion in the wake of the Agra incident [where Muslims were converted to Hinduism, triggering an outrage by non-BJP parties) by openly announcing their decision to continue with Ghar Wapsi (meaning return to the old fold or returning to Hinduism by those who were once Hindus) despite the BJP distancing itself from the issue and its chief Amit Shah saying that the party is against any forced conversion.
He also asked the other religious minorities not to convert Hindus if they also do not want to come back to Hinduism.
Bhagwat said the Hindus were forcibly converted.
"We are trying to create a strong Hindu society. Those who have strayed, they have not gone on their own. They have been allured and have been forcibly taken away," he said in Kolkata.
He said if conversion is wrong then the Parliament should pass a law to stop it.
"If you don't like it (re-conversion to Hinduism), then bring a law against it," he said, adding that they will bring back those who had lost their ways and joined other religion.
He further added that if conversion to Hinduism is wrong then Hindus should not be converted either.
"If you don't want to change into a Hindu, then you should not convert Hindus too. We are firm in our position," said the Hindu wing leader.
Bhagwat's comments gained significance and created a controversy in the context of Sangh Parivar's outfits carrying out 'ghar wapsi' (return to Hindu fold) programme in parts of North India.
The Rajya Sabha had been earlier stalled over the issue with the opposition demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement on the issue.
Bhagwat said, "There is no need to fear. We are in our own country. We are not intruders or infiltrators. This is our own country, our Hindu 'rashtra' (nation). A Hindu will not leave his land. What we have lost in the past, we will try to bring it back."
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