The National Commission for Minorities on Tuesday called for a countrywide debate on 'Hindutva' so that the apprehensions of the minorities are 'settled once and for all'.

The debate should have started 50 years ago, NCM Chairman Tarlochan Singh said, adding that shankaracharyas and other Hindu leaders should take part in the exercise.

"Nothing should be hidden under the carpet. Let all Hindus decide what is Hindutva," Singh said in Chennai.

Singh said that the minorities, comprising mainly Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis, are used as vote-banks at the time of polls.

He said, "The question of majority versus minority has become the main issue in the country today."

A team from the NCM called on Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and received representatives of various Christian bodies, who reiterated their apprehension about the anti-conversion law brought in by the state government.

The Christian community of Tamil Nadu is feeling insecure, he added.