AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi says 'everyone was born a Muslim'

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has added fuel to the raging fire over conversions, on Monday claiming that everyone was born Muslim.

"Everyone is born a Muslim, and then he is converted to other religions. Ghar wapsi is for these people to return to Islam," said Mr Owaisi, referring to the Hindi phrase for homecoming used by right-wing groups, who have stoked controversy by organising conversion ceremonies for religious minorities.

Mahant of Dwarka Shaktipeeth, Swami Sadanand Saraswati, on Sunday had claimed that every person on earth is born a Hindu first.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said recently that India is a "Hindu nation", which was seen by opposition parties in the same negative light as many remarks by Hindu right wing organisations in the recent past.

"I am not retaliating (to those sort of remarks). This is what the Quran says. You are free to not accept my interpretation," Mr Owaisi told NDTV. Owaisi represents the constituency of Hyderabad in the Lok Sabha. MIM made inroads into Maharashtra in October's assembly elections, gaining two seats.

"I am not offering money, nor telling people that they are not citizens of this country, if they don't belong to a particular religion. Nor that the country will be converted into a one-religion nation. After all, plurality is India's strength," he professed in support of his claim that his opinion differs from that of people like Mr Bhagwat.