Swami Parmatmanand, in a protest rally in Chhattisgarh's Surguja district, said that those who are involved in conversion to Christianity should be beheaded.
The protest was organised against the alleged spike in forced conversions of Hindus into Christianity. Swami said that people keep hand-axes in his village to behead those who come for conversion. He added that he is a saint but does not care.
"It's important to ignite the fire sometimes," Swami Parmatmanand said. Anyone who comes into your house, street, neighbourhood, or village (for conversion), don't forgive them, he added. He also told people to deal with the Hindus who have converted to Christianity by first politely talking to them, then protesting against them, and then shooting them, reported The Wire.
The violent statements by the self-styled saint were made in the presence of influential BJP leaders like Ramvichar Netam, Nand Kumar Sai, and BJP spokesperson Anurag Singh Deo. Nand Kumar Sai, former MP and ex-chairman of the National Scheduled Tribes Commission, were seen smiling and clapping in the video.
The event 'Bandh Karo Dharmantaran' (stop religious conversions) was organised by Sarwa Sanatan Hindu Raksha Manch, a loose coalition of like-minded Hindutva supporters.
The Sukma Superintendent of Police had recently issued a letter to all police stations asking to keep an eye on Christian missionaries and recently converted tribal people in order to stop "illegal religious conversions".
Several states in India are seeing anti-christian mobilisation. A church in Roorkee was recently assaulted by a mob of 250 Hindutva activists. Members of Christian families were booked under several sections like 153 (promoting religious disharmony), 395 (dacoity), and 120b (criminal conspiracy).