Kuala Lumpur, Dec 31 - Malaysian minister of Indian origin Samy Vellu is expected to lobby against the Hindu Action Rights Force (Hindraf), a group that claims to represent ethnic Indians in Malaysia, during his ongoing visit to India.

Kuala Lumpur, Dec 31 - Malaysian minister of Indian origin Samy Vellu is expected to lobby against the Hindu Action Rights Force (Hindraf), a group that claims to represent ethnic Indians in Malaysia, during his ongoing visit to India.

Vellu, who is the Malaysian works minister, is expected to meet Prime Minister Mannmohan Singh and others on the sidelines of the fifth Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas, the annual gathering of the Indian diaspora, beginning in New Delhi on Jan 7.

Hindraf has courted controversy since it organised a protest rally on Nov 25 to highlight the grievances of ethnic Indians - mostly Tamils - in Malaysia. The meeting was declared illegal and dispersed.

Thirty-one people are being prosecuted for having participated in the rally while five of the organisers are in jail for two years under the stringent Internal Security Act (ISA).

'I hope to meet the Indian prime minister on the sidelines of the Pravasi conference and meet the Tamil Nadu chief minister within the next few days,' he said.

Vellu said it was not true that Indians in Malaysia were deprived of many things and that many Hindu temples had been demolished arbitrarily, The Sun newspaper reported Monday.

'Some of the temples were demolished because of court orders as they were built illegally,' he said, adding that many of the temples were relocated to alternative sites.

Vellu, who arrived in Chennai Saturday, expressed hope that his explanation to the Indian government would clear up any misunderstanding over the issue.

He said relations between Malaysia and India are strong 'and nothing will affect this cordial relationship'.

India and Malaysia had last month exchanged notes formally and informally over the developments. Malaysia has resented Indian expression of 'concern', as also criticism from the US government, terming them 'interference'.

Vellu heads the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), the largest political party of ethnic Indians, predominantly Tamil Hindus, who form eight percent of Malaysia's 27 million population.

Vellu and MIC have been highly critical of the Hindraf's role. They say it is divisive and serves the ethnic Indian's interest ill. They have also dismissed Hindraf's claims of grievances as exaggerated.