BJP’s Tejasvi Surya withdraws his statement where he said those who left their “mother religion” must be brought back on priority.
BJP’s Tejasvi Surya also said it was the “only possible solution” to an “anomaly”.
All In MP Tejasvi Surya today said he was “unconditionally withdrawing” his comments about Hindu revival and “bringing back to the Hindu fold” all those who converted “over the course of India’s history”.
At the Mutt program, Surya had said: “There are people who belonged to Hinduism but were converted to Islam or Christianity. It is our duty to bring these people back into the fold of Hinduism. Also, Hindus in Pakistan who were converted to Islam should be brought back into the fold.”
His viral video sparked outrage over the nation and later, he on Monday issued a statement on Twitter that he was “unconditionally” withdrawing his recent remarks stating that those who had converted to Islam and Christianity should be brought back into the Hinduism fold, and that the mutts and temples should be set annual targets for this.
On Monday, Surya, the MP from Bengaluru South, tweeted, “At a program held in Udupi Sri Krishna Mutt two days ago, I spoke on the subject of ‘Hindu Revival in Bharat’. Certain statements from my speech have regrettably created an avoidable controversy. I therefore unconditionally withdraw the statements.”
"At a program held in Udupi Sri Krishna Mutt two days ago, I spoke on the subject of ‘Hindu Revival in Bharat’. Certain statements from my speech has regrettably created an avoidable controversy. I therefore unconditionally withdraw the statements," tweets BJP MP Tejasvi Surya pic.twitter.com/k1aZz4mVOo
— ANI (@ANI) December 27, 2021
Surya’s statement had followed the introduction of the anti-conversion Bill by the BJP government in Karnataka, which was passed by the Assembly amid protests by the Opposition.
Sources said Surya, who is viewed close to the central BJP leadership, was told to issue the statement in light of the coming Goa elections, where Christians form a sizeable chunk of the population. It is the first time perhaps that the MP, often accused of provocative comments has issued a withdrawal.
Earlier this year, Surya had unsettled the BJP by saying before the Tamil Nadu elections that the BJP wanted to end ‘Periyarism’ (all the main political parties in Tamil Nadu, including BJP ally AIADMK, swear by Periyar, who advocated atheism).
During the anti-CAA protests, Surya had courted controversy saying that only the “uneducated, illiterate, and puncture-wallahs (people who work in garage and tire repair shops)” were protesting against the Act.
Karnataka has become the latest BJP-ruled state to bring in an anti-conversion Bill – officially called the Karnataka Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021. Prohibiting conversion from one religion to another by use of misrepresentation, force, fraud, allurement, or marriage, it advocates one of the strictest punishments for anyone doing this.
Tejasvi Surya, the national president of the BJP Yuva Morcha or youth wing, is notorious for his divisive politics and inflammatory statements.