Bharatiya Janata Party’s Mumbai city unit’s president, and MLA Mangal Prabhat Lodha, launched an agitation against religious conversions in Mumbai’s Chandivali area. He accused the local administration of facilitating these religious conversions by working with the missionaries.
On 1st of April 2022, Mangal Prabhat Lodha posted on his Twitter handle, “Visited Sangharsh Nagar, Chandivali & surprise to know that conversion activities are going on openly with the blessings of local Administration. Visited DCP office, got no support hence we will be the part of agitation till this conversion activities stopped.”
Mangal Prabhat Lodha informed in a subsequent tweet that he was accompanied by many party workers and the Vice-President of BJP’s Mumbai unit Pawan Tripathi along with Sandip Bhagat, who is the head of the Mumbai unit of the Bajrang Dal.
Pawan Tripathi also expressed concern about the conversion program. He demanded the safety of Hindus addressing the government of Maharashtra in his tweet. He tweeted, “Today, I visited Sangharsh Nagar in the Chandivali area of Mumbai with Shri Mangal Prabhat Lodha. The manner in which the conversion work is going on in association with the local administration in Sangharsh Nagar is very worrying and frightening. The Government of Maharashtra should ensure the safety of Hindus.”
Last week, Legal Rights Observatory alleged that 3000 people including dozens of kids in Chandivali Mumbai were forcibly converted to Christianity. Ishwar Tawade, the local Shiv Sena corporator in Chandivali (ward number 157 of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai), forced Mumbai police to lodge an FIR against Rohan Thakur of Vishwa Hindu Parishad who opposed these conversions.
Legal Rights Observatory also urged the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights to book the offenders under sections of the Juvenile Justice Act. NCPCR chairperson Priyank Kanoonga took cognisance of the tweet about the rampant conversions taking place in Mumbai as alleged by the Legal Rights Observatory.