Stop hate campaign against Pope 8212; Left

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 ...

NEW DELHI, OCT 18: The Left parties want the Prime Minister to call a halt to the Sangh Parivar8217;s hate campaign against the Pope8217;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.

quot;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 outfitsquot;, the CPIM 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. quot;They should take serious note of the actions of the RSS and the VHP and take steps to halt these trendsquot;, Raja said.

Referring to the yatra organised by the VHP, the CPIM said thecross-country yatra is being used for propaganda against the Christian community. quot;The propaganda material which is being brought out by the VHP and other RSS outfits spew hatred against the Christian minorityquot;, the CPIM 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 CPIM said India is a multi-religious country and the head of any religion is free to visit the country to participate in religious functions.

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quot;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 landquot;, the CPIM said.