Advani accused of diverting attention from Orissa violence

NEW DELHI: The All India Christian Council on Saturday accused the BJP of diverting the country's attention from violence against Christians in Orissa to a "non issue" like "forcible conversions".

"Even as violence against the Christian community continues to rage in Orissa, BJP leader L K Advani, whose party is in power in the state along with Biju Janata Dal, chose to remain a silent spectator for more than 40 days", Council President Joseph D'Souza and Secretary General John Dayal alleged in a statement here.

They also alleged that though choosing to react to communal violence in Orissa, Advani immediately diverted attention from the issue by speaking of "forcible and fraudulent conversions" during a meeting with some Christian leaders.

Describing the dialogue as neither religious nor political they said the Council welcomes all sorts of dialogue, "but a dialogue presupposes free will, a peaceful platform, a structured agenda...and acknowledgement of each other as equals".

However, it termed the efforts of BJP-RSS to initiate a dialogue in some parts of the country as "exuding the stink of coercion and beating a smaller community into submission."

The statement said that the Council denounced forcible conversions but claimed that repeated exercises by the National Minorities Commission and efforts by "aggressive governments" have failed to provide a single proven case of forcible or fraudulent conversion.

The Council appealed to the National Integration Council (NIC) to act soon to save not just the Christian community but also to save the very idea of India.

NIC chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is scheduled to meet on October 13 to discuss communal violence in Orissa and measures to control it.