Hindu state campaign discomfits Modi govt

A series of reported religious re-conversion by outfits lined to India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's description of India as a “Hindu rashtra (state)” has led to repeated disruption to the proceedings in the winter session of parliament by the opposition adamant on seeking Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sensitive issue.

The worst-hit by the disruption was the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament, where Modi's party does not have a majority, raising the spectre of non-passage of some of the crucial legislations relating to economic reforms like increasing foreign direct investment in insurance sector and to overhaul the scam-hit coal exploration sector.

Protests by the opposition erupted in parliament against a campaign by Hindu hardliners to bring Muslims and Christians back to Hindu-fold.

What further contributed to Modi government's discomfiture is Bhagwat's support on Sunday to reconversion even as the government tried to find a way to push the insurance and coal sector bills through the persisting opposition blockade.

Opposition members threw papers and swarmed to the centre of the Rajya Sabha on Monday, forcing the suspension of the session and effectively preventing the government from tabling a bill to increase the FDI to 49 percent from 26 and another bill to replace a decree to overhaul the coal sector.

These two legislations were considered low-hanging fruits that Modi hoped to push through parliament's winter session to showcase his government's determination to go ahead with the economic reforms ahead of US President Barack Obama's visit to Delhi next month.

Modi is being accused by the opposition of not reining in the hardliner Hindu groups.

About one fifth of India's 1.2 billion people identify themselves as belonging to faiths other than Hinduism. Conversion is a sensitive issue with Hindu groups saying many poor Hindus over the ages were forced to give up their faith, or lured into Islam and Christianity.

Opposition Congress party leader Anand Sharma urged Modi to make clear his stance on conversion. Modi has so far let his party colleagues tackle the criticism.

BJP chief Amit Shah, a trusted aide of Modi, has made it clear that the conversion controversy would not derail Modi government's pursuit of reforms and economic development, and his party has made it clear that conversion should be banned and the opposition should support a law against conversion.

However, analysts say that more than the hue and cry over conversion, what was really difficult for Modi government in the Rajya Sabha was the unfavourable arithmetic in the upper house. This does not necessarily mean any lack of will on the government's part even though some of the affiliates of the RSS may not be on the same page with the government on some economic reforms.

For now, the government will have to wait for the long budget session of parliament, expected to start in late February, to try and push the reforms bills.

It is keeping this in mind that the BJP has focused more on winning elections in different states legislatures and increasing the number of seats in legislatures where it cannot hope to be voted to power.

The BJP has already won state legislature elections in Maharashtra and Haryana a few months ago and is set to grab power in the eastern state of Jharkhand. It also put up an impressive show in assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir.

The significance of getting more seats in state legislatures is that their members elect members of the Rajya Sabha. If the BJP and its allies manage to get majority in the Rajya Sabha, they can get the reforms legislations passed. The party has comfortable majority in the Lok Sabha.