“The Hindu population is reducing in India because Hindus never convert people. Minorities in India are flourishing unlike some countries around,” Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said on Monday. His statement came in response to the Congress accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party of trying to make Arunachal Pradesh a “Hindu state”. “Congress should not make such provocative statements. India is a secular country. All religious groups enjoy freedom and live peacefully,” he added.

Rijiju’s statement was supported by Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who said the local population in the state was also going down, though he attributed it to the influx of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. “In Assam, it is not related to conversion, its related to uncontrolled influx from Bangladesh,” Sarma told ANI.

Government figures show that the Hindu population continue to grow in India, although at a slower rate than other religious communities.

The Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee had claimed last week, “The rich tradition and culture of the indigenous tribes of Arunachal Pradesh are at stake under BJP rule.” It had also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP of creating “political instability” in the state by trying to oust the elected Congress government in AP, The Arunachal Times reported.

Rijiju’s remarks were also in response to the personal attack on him made by the state Congress. “Rijiju, after assuming charge as the Union minister of state for home affairs, is doing nothing for the development of the state as he has no clear vision. He is rather busy in creating instability and destabilising the people’s mandate – the Congress government and panchayat in the state,” the party said.

The political climate in Arunachal Pradesh has been in turmoil for more than a year now. In December 2015, a number of Congress legislators had revolted against former chief minister Nabam Tuki. One of the dissidents, Kalikho Pul, took over the top post in February with the help of 11 BJP lawmakers. Pul committed suicide in August.

However, the Supreme Court had reinstated the Tuki government in the state in July. Pema Khandu – who was a Congress member at the time – took over as the chief minister of the state after Tuki failed to secure the support of party legislators. In October, Khandu and 43 other MLAs defected from the Congress and joined the People’s Party of Arunachal, which is part of the North East Democratic Alliance along with the BJP and other regional outfits.