“Conversion, foreign funded NGOs cause riot”

Bhubaneswar:Demanding tough measures to regulate activities of foreign funded NGOs operating in riot-hit Kandhamal district, VHP leader Laxmanananda Saraswati on Saturday called for an open debate on conversion, terming it as the ‘root cause’ of unrest in the tribal dominated areas.

Saraswati, attack on whom was stated to be the cause of the communal flare up in Kandhamal stated this after recording his statement before the National Human Rights Commission here.

“I have told the NHRC team that conversion and foreign funding to NGOs were the reasons behind communal riots in Kandhamal,” he told reporters.

“I urged NHRC to probe fake caste (ST) certificates fraudulently obtained by non-tribals. I also demanded action against the people who obtained such fake certificates and got Government jobs,” Saraswati said.

Rejecting the State Government’s claim that conversion had nothing to do with the riots, VHP veteran said that the Government was not properly informed about the chronologies of the incidents.

He asserted that all conversions of dalits and tribals in Orissa were made by allurements like money and jobs and challenged those who claimed otherwise

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