Follow 'friend' Barack's advice, Cong tells Modi

Seizing on US President Barack Obama’s remarks on religious freedom, Congress on Tuesday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “listen” to his “friend Barack” and reign in the VHP and the RSS.

Congress leaeders took to Twitter to draw Modi’s attention to Obama’s comments at a speech in New Delhi where he spoke about every person’s right to practice his faith.

“Would Modi take his friend Barack's advice and ask his friends in VHP to shut up and request (RSS chief) Mohan Bhagwat to stop justifying ‘Ghar waapsi (religious re-conversions)’?” AICC General Secretary Digvijaya Singh said on Twitter.

Singh thanked Obama “speaking up” for Indian citizen’s right to “profess, practice and propagate his religion.”

“Obama reminds us of Article 25 of Indian Constitution of the right of every Citizen of India to progress practice and propagate his religion,” he said.

The Youth Congress also pitched in and hoped that Modi would take lessons from Obama and redirect his vision from “coercion and conversion” to “something positive”.

“Every person has the right to practice his faith without any persecution, fear or discrimination. India will succeed so long it is not splintered on religious lines,” Obama said at a public lecture  before wrapping up his three-day visit here.