BJP slams Pope's remarks on anti-conversion laws

The party said that the Pope, who is also the Vatican head, should not be interfering with India's internal matters.

Lashing out at the Pope for his reported remarks about anti-conversion laws in India, the BJP said that Benedict XVI, the Head of State of Vatican, should not interfere in the internal affairs of India.

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"Pope is not only a religious head, but also the leader of a nation," BJP National Secretary L Ganesan said in a statement while sharply reacting to Pope's reported remarks while receiving India's new envoy in Vatican on Thursday.

Criticising the reported remarks of the Pope, Hindu Munnani leader Era Ramagopalan said that the Pope's remarks were "unacceptable".

The Pope had said "the disturbing signs of religious intolerance which have troubled some regions in the nation (India), including the reprehensible attempt to legislate clearly discriminatory restrictions on the fundamental right of religious freedom, must be firmly rejected".