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Wednesday, Apr 14, 2010
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BJP protests outside German Consulate

Staff Reporter

Mumbai: Leaders and supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party staged a protest outside the German Consulate office here on Tuesday, condemning the recent remarks made against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi by a visiting German delegation.

The delegation of five MPs from the country's ruling coalition Christian Democratic Union had endorsed the European Union decision not to grant Mr. Modi a visa.

The agitators said the delegation, which had gone to Gujarat to assess the condition of minorities there, called Mr. Modi “a dictator.” It also commented on the Anti-conversion Bill passed by the State legislature.

Party supporters raised slogans decrying the German Republic. A delegation including Mumbai BJP president Gopal Shetty, the former Union Minister Ram Naik, the former State Minister Raj K Purohit and Atul Shah met Consul-General Walter Spechel.

In a memorandum, they demanded “an unqualified apology from the German Republic for hurting the sentiments of the people of India.” The MPs had “no business to comment on the laws enacted by the sovereign Republic of India,” and their remarks were part of “a larger conspiracy by the evangelical movement, who are trying to lead a conversion movement in India,” the memorandum said.

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