Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said that an international syndicate was fuelling illegal religious conversions in the country and stressed upon the importance of their eradication. The Chief Minister made the remarks during a law and order review meeting in Lucknow in view of the upcoming annual kanwar yatra.
An “international syndicate” is operating in the country, fanning illegal religious conversions, and is also “responsible for training people already converted to illegally convert others”, said CM Yogi.
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According to a release issued by the state government, the Chief Minister said in the meeting that it has been confirmed that a “big international syndicate” was involved in illegal religious conversions.
This syndicate, the CM said, is training people who have already undergone conversion and getting them to do illegal conversions in a planner manner, reported The Indian Express.
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The remarks come amid an increase in cases of illegal conversions across the country in recent times.
“We are aware of the incident of religious conversion of young children in Ghaziabad through online gaming/chatting apps. In one incident, a mook-badhir (speech- and hearing-impaired) child was encouraged for illegal religious conversion. Prompt action was taken and a big conspiracy was exposed. It is necessary to nip such anti-social and anti-national incidents in the bud. A small negligence today can turn into cancer in the future,” he said.
He also emphasised on the necessity of eliminating syndicates and directed the officials of the Home department, police and district administration to treat all information with seriousness and take appropriate action against illegal conversions.
“They also allure (people) by offering money. Eradicating this syndicate is necessary — a strict law against illegal religious conversion is in operation in the state, and prompt action should be taken against every such activity,” he said.