NEW DELHI, OCT 18: The Left parties want the Prime Minister to call a halt to the Sangh Parivar's hate campaign against the Pope's visit to India early next month.Accusing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) of orchestrating an anti-Christian campaign, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has demanded that the government take immediate steps to curb the campaign unleashed by these organisations."The visit of Pope John Paul to New Delhi in the first week of November is being used as a pretext for a countrywide anti-Christian campaign orchestrated by the RSS and its allied outfits", the CPI(M) Polit Bureau said.CPI National Secretary D Raja wanted to know why the Prime Minister and the Home Minister were silent in the face of the threats being made by the Sangh Parivar outfits. "They should take serious note of the actions of the RSS and the VHP and take steps to halt these trends", Raja said.Referring to the yatra organised by the VHP, the CPI(M) said the cross-country yatra is being used for propaganda against the Christian community. "The propaganda material which is being brought out by the VHP and other RSS outfits spew hatred against the Christian minority", the CPI(M) said.The party has asked the Vajpayee government to take immediate steps to curb this propaganda campaign and related activities like the VHP yatra, saying failure to do so would further damage the secular image of the country in the eyes of the world.Charging the government with being unable to take a firm stand on the issue as the RSS was involved, the CPI(M) said India is a multi-religious country and the head of any religion is free to visit the country to participate in religious functions."This has never been questioned before. It is a sign of the changed circumstances that under the BJP-led government hostile propaganda against a religious group is freely conducted contravening the laws of the land", the CPI(M) said.If one minority community was being attacked and intimidated over the visit of the Pope, then "where are we heading for?", questioned Raja.The intimidatory nature of the campaign launched by the RSS and the VHP made "a mockery of the tall claims by the Prime Minister about his government maintaining communal harmony", the CPI said.
