After LJP chief and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan spoke out against a law to ban conversions as sought by BJP leaders, another NDA constituent, HRD minister of state Upendra Kushwaha, Rashtriya Lokt
After LJP chief and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan spoke out against a law to ban conversions as sought by BJP leaders, another NDA constituent, HRD minister of state Upendra Kushwaha, Rashtriya Loktantrik Samata Party chief, has said he doesn’t favour such a law.
Mr Kushwaha told PTI in an interview that he is against any law to check conversions as there are already legal provisions to check coercion and allurement to induce conversions.
His statement is significant as the LJP and RLSP are key allies of the BJP in Bihar, where Assembly elections are due later this year. Mr Kushwaha further said that “controversial remarks by Hindutva hardliners and the conversion (issue) was damaging the NDA’s prospects”, citing the example of the Kashmir Valley, where the BJP could not manage to win a single seat.
When PTI asked him if the issue of conversions was taking away the spotlight from the issue of development, Mr Kushwaha quipped: “Definitely, it does take away the focus. They (saffron hardliners) should keep this in mind — the only agenda of this government is development. They should allow the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to do that. The Opposition should not be given an opportunity to raise this issue all the time. The Prime Minister also wants the only focus area should be development.” The BJP should fight the Delhi polls only on the development plank, he added.
