Attacking the Pope for his alleged remarks against anti-conversion laws in India, the RSS today said the utterances were ‘‘tantamount to a direct challenge to India and its pluralist tradition’’ and urged the government ‘‘to register their protest to the head of Vatican for his intemperate remarks on Indian laws’’.At a press conference, RSS spokesman Ram Madhav said the Pope, in remarks to some Indian bishops recently, reportedly said: ‘‘Unfortunately in some regions, state authorities have yielded to the pressures of extremists and have passed unjust conversion laws’’ and asked them to ‘‘courageously’’ continue activities.Defending laws promulgated in Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, Madhav said such laws were needed in other states too ‘‘because the activities of missionaries for converting people to their faith are leading to tensions and posing serious threat to peace and harmony”. He said a SC judgement in 1977 decreed that while every religion has the freedom to profess, practice and propagate itself, its followers should not proselytise. Madhav, however, refused to place conversion activities of the VHP and other Hindu bodies in the category, and said it was ‘‘homecoming’’ — bringing back people to the Hindu-fold.He said RSS did not accept religion as a quota criterion but had ‘‘no objection’’ to Muslims being included under the economic criteria if reservation was extended to the poor.
