Kolkata: Hindu organisation tries to convert Muslims in public meeting, later attacks journalists

In a first, a Hindu organisation conducted an event of converting Muslims into Hinduism at a public meeting in Kolkata and when journalists tried to talk to the family who got converted, members of the organisation attacked mediapersons.

Tapan Ghosh, mentor of the right-winged organisation, Hindu Samhati, said that so far they had been doing ‘ghar wapsi’ discreetly but on Wednesday they decided to do in public. “Hossain Ali, his wife Moina Bibi along with 12 members of their family would be converted to Hinduism. I will ask members of Hindu Samhati to go to villages across the state and give ‘daawat’ or invitation to all Muslims to return to their roots,” Ghosh said during the public meeting at Rani Rashmoni Avenue in central Kolkata.

Later the 14 persons – most of them minors – were called up on the stage and saffron bandana sporting Hindu Samhati supporters chanted ‘Hussain Ali Swagatam’. After they returned to their place in front of the stage, mediapersons tried to talk to them to get details of where they hailed from and why did they decide to convert. They were fiercely guarded by the organisation supporters who said none of the family members would talk to media. When media persons insisted with their questions, they attacked reporters and camera persons, injuring Anjan Roy, a reporter of Zee 24 Ghanta.

Police have arrested four persons including Tapan Ghosh, related to assault on mediapersons. “Raids are on and more arrests are expected,” a senior official of Kolkata Police said.

President of Hindu Samhati Debtanu Bhattacharya said that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been indulging in Muslim appeasement saying that Muslims should be looked after because they form a sizeable per cent of the population but the truth is different. “She claims that there are 32 per cent Muslims in the state but at districts which have over 50 per cent Muslim population, performance of her party is worse than that of districts which have lesser Muslim population. It proves that she has won with the help of Hindu votes yet in the budget she allots Rs 3500 crore for higher education and Rs 3700 crore for Madrasa education,” said Bhattacharya.

He also said that state BJP leaders too were doing the same thing. “BJP Rajya Sabha MP Roopa Ganguly visits Muslims who had been victims of state atrocities but never goes to Hindus who have been attacked. Both the parties which are in power and which aspires to be in power are doing the same thing. BJP is yet to make any impression in Bengal and prove their relevance,” he added.

Ghosh too viewed similar emotions saying that BJP had paid a lot more importance to Deendayal Upadhayay than SP Mookerjee. “We demand that Sealdah station should be rechristened as Dr Shyamaprasad Mookerjee Terminus,” he said. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condemned the attack on journalists and said strict action would be taken against offenders.