Pope’s visit — Oppn calls halt to RSS tirade

The Congress on Thursday joined the chorus of voices demanding that the Government come out firmly against the "damaging statements of its Sangh parivar partners" against the Pope’s visit.

Earlier, the two Left parties, the CPI(M) and CPI had also asked the Prime Minister to intervene and stop the campaign launched by the RSS and the VHP of conducting a cross-country yatra and demanding an apology from the Pope.

Three wings of the Sangh Parivar, the RSS, VHP and the Bajrang Dal are demanding an apology from the Pope for what they call the "alleged inquisitions carried out in Goa, Kerala and Maharashtra by early Christian missionaries".

Starting with purificatory prayers in Goa, the yatra organisers plan to converge on New Delhi in time with the Pope’s visit.

Senior Congress leader Rajesh Pilot cautioned the Government that the country’s image in the international community as a secular, forward-looking state would be completely eroded if the RSS and VHP are allowed to carry on their anti-Christian campaign.

Urging the Prime Minister to take "immediate steps to restrain the VHP and allied organisations", AICC secretary Ramesh Chennitala said the Government should take all the necessary action to ensure a smooth visit for the Pope who is the spiritual head of millions of Christians in the world.

Meanwhile, a meeting of religious leaders in the Capital denounced the attempt by the Sangh Parivar to sully the secular image of the country by unleashing a virtual hate campaign against the Christian community.

"We denounce the attempt on the part of certain forces to derive political and communal mileage out of this religious event. Any discourtesy shown to the Pope will tarnish the image of our country in the eyes of the world community," the religious leaders said.

Cutting across faiths, the Seer of the Prayag Mutt, Jagatguru Shankaracharya Madhvanand Saraswati, Sikh scholar Mohinder Singh, Islamic scholar Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, Delhi Minorities Commission member Valson Thampu said the Government should ensure that nothing detracts from the spiritual significance of the Pope visit.

With the Opposition parties putting pressure on the Government to put down firmly the Sangh Parivar’s plans to conduct the rath yatra, the Government will have to soon overcome its reticence. However, Opposition leaders feel the BJP’s silence on the Sangh campaign could be the quid pro quo on the BJP’s playing down the Hindutva agenda during the elections.