In a debate moderated by TIMES NOW's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, panelists -- Sachin Pilot, Former Minister of Corporate Affairs; GVL Narasimha Rao, Natl Spokesperson & Member Electoral Reforms, BJP; Derek O Brien, Chief Whip & MP, Rajya Sabha, TMC; and Gaurav Bhatia, Natl President, Legal Wing, SP -- discuss the issue of BJP continuing to face onslaught over its leaders' controversial comments which have religious overtones.
About 100 people, mostly minority slum dwellers, were re-converted and "brought back" to the Hindu fold through a ritual carried out by Hindu organisation Dharma Jagran Manch. The Agra police registered a case against the outfit and its UP Convenor Nand Kishore on Tuesday night and launched investigations into the incident.Facing accusations of pursuing communal agenda against the backdrop of conversion in Agra, government on Dec 12 asserted in Lok Sabha that it was committed to maintain communal harmony and suggested that all states as well as the Centre should have anti-conversion laws. And, a day after kicking up a row, BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj was on Dec 12 forced by a united opposition to express regret in the Lok Sabha for describing Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse as a 'patriot', a remark that was condemned by the government too. And, Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik on Dec 11 sparked a fresh row when he said that a Ram temple should be built here at the site of Babri Masjid as per the "wishes of Indian citizens". BJP MPs Vinay Katiyar and Sakshi Maharaj defended Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik's statement that a Ram Temple should be constructed in Ayodhya as opposition slammed it as an attempt "to vitiate atmosphere" by the saffron party.
