BJP fuelling conversion controversy: Janata Parivar, Left

NEW DELHI: Leaders of Janata Parivar and the Left today slammed the Centre's suggestion for a law against conversion, saying any such legislation will be against the Constitution and accused the ruling BJP of fuelling the controversy to detract people's attention from real issues.

RJD President Lalu Yadav and JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav, who have joined hands in Bihar and are working for a merger of all Janata Parivar offshoots, charged that BJP wanted to consolidate Hindu votes by polarising society.

"Constitution gives people freedom that they can join any party, they can join any religion. It (BJP) is a strange party. They are not really doing it (Agra conversion) for religion. They have by any means converted some destitute," Sharad said at Agenda Aaj Tak.

Lalu and Sitaram Yechury of CPI(M) agreed with his views. Lalu said BJP has a history of "vandalising" worship places of minorities and "terrorising" their followers and for it to speak against conversion was "duplicity".

BJP, he said, has made "false promises" like its government would bring back black money, give jobs to the youth and is now resorting to "diversionary" tactics as it was unable to fulfil them.

"This balloon (Modi government) will come down soon. It is flying due to the wind of false promises. People have begun realising that they have been duped," he said, claiming that central government will fall in six months.

Referring to their unity move, he said they would together tour the country in the coming months to raise awareness against failures of the BJP government.

SP President Mulayam Singh Yadav has been entrusted with the task of bringing together these parties.

Rejecting suggestion that CPI(M) should boost the anti-BJP unity exercise by joining hands with its arch-rival Mamata Banerjee, whose TMC rules West Bengal, Yechury said politics is not simple arithmetic aimed at stopping division of votes but it is going to people to rally them around a political agenda.

Socialist parties, a reference to Janata Parivar groups, and communist parties are like "twins who can together stop the chariot of Modi," he said, referring to the mythological tale of Lord Rama's horse being stopped by Luv and Kush.