Mangaluru :  MLA and former Minister U T Khader termed an anti-conversion bill which the state government planned to introduce in the winter session of the state legislature as an attempt to divert the attention of the people of the state from the failure of the state government.

“It is the BJP’s agenda to divert the attention of the people and a political gimmick,” he told mediapersons in Mangaluru.

“In the last two years, the BJP-led government in Karnataka failed to issue any BPL ration cards, sanction houses for the poor and disburse scholarships for the students. The government even failed to disburse compensation for the loss of crops. A sensitive issue like conversions needs to be discussed in length. What was the need for an urgency?” he sought to know.

The government has failed to conduct a probe into the bitcoin scam. None of the political parties, religion will support forceful conversion. There are enough IPC sections to act against forceful conversion. There is a need to discuss the loopholes in the section if any, he said.

The MLA said “Mughals had ruled the country for several centuries and British had ruled the country for over 200 years. Inspite of it, 80 per cent of the population in the country are Hindus. If there was conversion by the Christian Missionaries, then the students who studied in the schools and colleges run by the Missionaries in Mangaluru would have been converted by now. The Christian Missionaries have rendered services in the healthcare and education sector in Mangaluru,” he said. The government is trying to create confusion in the minds of the people when Christmas is nearing, he alleged.

The state government had introduced anti-cattle slaughter law when the gram panchayat elections were nearing in the past.

The MLA condemned those miscreants who are allegedly indulging in spreading hate and celebratory messages on social media in connection with the tragic death of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat and 12 others in an army helicopter crash.

“When the whole country is mourning the death, it is not right on the part of the people to post celebratory messages. The government should take stern action against such miscreants and reveal their true face to the people of the country.”

Those who had posted such derogatory messages are anti-nationals and they should be externed. What is preventing the BJP-led government from acting against such miscreants. The Home Minister should answer, he demanded.

Further, he urged the government to take the issue of helicopter crash seriously and conduct a probe. The government should inform the citizens of the country on the cause of the crash.