The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Sunday slammed Pope John Paul for criticising the anti-conversion laws enacted in some states and for calling upon the church to 'courageously' continue with evangelisation in India.

The outfit also refused to react to All India Muslim Personal Law Board's decision to reject Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati's proposals to resolve the Ayodhya issue.

It described the pontiff's criticism of the anti-conversion laws as a 'direct challenge' to the sovereignty of the country and asked the government to lodge a strong protest with the Pope.

RSS general secretary Madan Dass Devi also supported VHP's demand for legislation for handing over of the disputed land at Ayodhya to Hindus saying it was one of the alternatives to a solution to the vexed issue.

He, however, said RSS had expected results to Kanchi seer's efforts as the Shankaracharya himself was 'hopeful'.

"India's attitude of peace and tolerance should not be construed as a license to anyone to infringe on our national ethos," the resolution adopted by the RSS at Kanyakumari said.

"Conversion was not just a change of the form of worship of prayer but subversion of national loyalty. Certain states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Orissa, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu had promulgated laws prohibiting forced conversions. It is high time that other states also enacted similar laws prohibiting conversion," the resolution said.

In another resolution, the RSS national executive strongly condemned the killing of eight Hindu fishermen in Marad village of Kerala on May 2.

"The incident signals a serious threat to the security of the country. The killers were not only given refuge in a nearby mosque, but Muslim women and children prevented the police from entering the mosque, which allowed many accused to flee," the resolution alleged.