UP Police stops church prayer after outfit founded by Adityanath alleges forced conversions

Police in Maharajganj district in Uttar Pradesh stopped a prayer at a church attended by over 100 people, including American tourists, after Hindu Yuva Vahini — founded by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath — alleged that forced conversions were being done there.A News18 report said that Hindu Yuva Vahini alleged that the prayer meeting was a 'cover' for forced conversions.[caption id="attachment_3374634" align="alignleft" width="380"]

Representational image. AFP[/caption]After the 'probe', however, the police found that the allegations were baseless and allowed the Americans to leave. This was also the first time such an allegation was being made against the British-era church in Maharajganj, which also happens to be a tourist hotspot.This incident came to the light on the same day another similar incident in Bengaluru was reported in which a VHP activist filed a complaint against two evangelists from the US, accusing them of indulging in religious conversions in India and violating visa norms.Girish Bharadwaj filed the complaint with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office in Bengaluru against Patricia King of XP Ministries and Donna Schambach of Schambach Foundation, both of whom are currently on a visit to the city.They are slated to attend a religious campaign named 'Power and Reality of the Kingdom' organised by a local church on 8 April as chief guests. Bharadwaj, in his complaint, also alleged that both the foreigners were frequently visiting India only with the purpose of religious conversions."As per rules, foreigners, with any type of visa, are not allowed to preach and propagate their religion in India. And the government of India shall not issue visas to evangelists who desire to come to India to attend religious campaigns," he said.