During a press conference held in Jaipur on July 25, Vasudev Devnani, a member of the Legislative Assembly of Rajasthan and a top exponent of the BJP, accused some Protestant missionaries of running a conversion factory. According to him, these Christian missionaries promise to give money to people who willingly abandon Hinduism.
In Ajmer district, a lawmaker reported an event that occurred in the municipality of Kishangarh. Addressing the press, he said, "For some time, three Christian women have been going there under the pretext of reciting some prayers; they gather women and children between the ages of 12 and 15 and talk about religious conversion."
The three missionaries are said to have told local families to worship Jesus Christ and get rid of all Hindu God images from their homes. "Many of the families living in Kishangarh are poor. The way in which these are attracted to Christianity through money is to be condemned. The issue has caused tensions in the city. Hindu society will never accept that Christian missionaries try to convert the faithful for money.
"We ask that the central government intervene immediately against these people. Where do they get the money from? We would like to know where their funds come from. Should the Hindu religion continue to suffer such attacks, in the name of community harmony? These people are greedy for votes," Devnani said.
These accusations are only inventions, said Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC). According to him, no conversion activity has taken place. "Whatever has to do with the small Christian community is viewed with suspicion. Pentecostals are also poor: how can they convert someone by offering money, when they themselves do not have money? It is important to point out that the infamous anti-conversion law exists in Rajasthan, an instrument of harassment and intimidation against innocent Pentecostal Christians. Moreover, India is a secular democratic country with constitutional guarantees. Why then do Christians suffer discrimination and are arrested only for practicing their faith? The government census shows a decline in the Christian population, so the existence of a "conversion factory" is a regrettable and outrageously false accusation."
