98 tribal Christians 'reconverted' to Hinduism, claims right-wing group
Kailashahar (Tripura), Jan 21: The Hindu Jagran Manch, a Hindu right-wing group, Monday claimed that 98 Christians belonging to 23 tribal families were "reconverted" to Hinduism in Tripura.
The people, mostly tea garden workers hailing from Bihar and Jharkhand, had been converted to Christianity in 2010, Tripura unit president of the Hindu Jagran Manch Uttam Dey said.
"This is like a return of lost family members to their own home. They were Hindus, but were lured into Christianity after the Sonamukhi tea garden in Unakoti district, where they were working, was closed in 2010," Dey told reporters.
He said most of converted persons belong to Orao and Munda tribal communities.
The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) was also associated with the reconversion programme that took place here in Kailashahar district, around 180 km from state capital Agartala, on Sunday.
VHP Unakoti district secretary Madan Mohan Goswami said it was 'Ghar Wapsi' for the people.
Birsa Munda, one of the reconverted, claimed that they were lured towards Christianity but later treated badly by those who had convinced them to convert.
"We are very poor people. Christians converted us. They also frequently misbehaved with us. We reconverted to Hinduism by our own will," he told reporters.
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Women BJP MLAs protest against opposition in UP assembly premises
Lucknow (PTI): Women BJP MLAs held a protest in the Vidhan Bhawan complex before the one-day special session of Uttar Pradesh assembly, slamming the opposition for defeating the passage of a bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Law, in the Lok Sabha.
This followed another demonstration by Samajwadi Party MLAs, who alleged that the BJP was misleading public in the name of women's reservation.
The women BJP legislators assembled in front of Chaudhary Charan Singh's statue in the assembly premises, holding banners inscribed with the slogan "Insult to Matrushakti (women's power), India will not tolerate it". The protesting members entered the main hall of Vidhan Bhawan carrying the banners.
Participating in the protest, the state Minister for Women Welfare and Child Development, Baby Rani Maurya, told reporters that all opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, had opposed the women's reservation, a stance for which they would have to pay a heavy political price.
"On this issue, all of us women stand united. We will ensure that we secure our reservation," she said.
BJP MLA Ketki Singh remarked that their protest represents the collective outrage of millions of women across the state.
Singh asserted that the opposition has betrayed women by creating hurdles in the path of women's reservation. The current demonstration is merely the beginning, and very soon, women from every street, intersection and household will join the protest movement, she said.
Minister Vijaylakshmi Gautam said, "We strongly condemn the despicable act committed by the Samajwadi Party and the Congress in an attempt to hold back 'half the population' (women). Their action was directed against the very bill that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had introduced to empower and strengthen Nari Shakti (women's power), and which he strived to pass expeditiously."
Uttar Pradesh assembly is holding a one-day special session on Thursday. During the session, the government is set to move a censure motion against the opposition parties over their failure to pass the Constitution Amendment Bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Act, in the Lok Sabha.
