Maya: religious conversion row worrisome

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Sunday said the "hue and cry" being raised in the country over religious conversion is "worrisome" even as she stated any conversion done forcibly, with an ill intent, was wrong.

The BSP chief expressed her views regarding religious conversion in her post on Twitter wishing the public on the occasion of Christmas. A couple of days before, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, while reviewing arrangements ahead of the festival, had asked officials to also ensure that no instances of religious conversion take place in any district of the state. Mayawati has been making a spirited outreach toward minorities ahead of the 2024 polls after winning only one seat in the state assembly. She said politics being done in the name of religious conversion did more to harm the country than to benefit it.

"Hue and cry being raised in the country regarding religious conversion is both inappropriate and worrisome. Anything done forcibly is wrong and to convert or get converted with an ill-intent is also wrong. It is important to understand the issue in the right perspective...," she said.