Anti-Conversion Law
Madhya Pradesh cabinet passes anti-conversion bill, guilty to face upto 10-year jail
Bhopal/IBNS: The forced religious conversions will now attract upto 10-year jail term in Madhya Pradesh as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led state government passed an anti-conversion bill in the cabinet on Saturday, media reports said.
The bill was passed by voice vote.
The guilty will also have to pay a fine of upto Rs. one lakh.
The Dharma Swatantrya (Religious Freedom) Bill 2020 was tabled at a cabinet meeting, which was chaired by CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, ahead of the legislative session scheduled to be held later this month.
Passing the bill, Chouhan hinted that conversions are taking place in the state to capture political power.
In order to win a panchayat, "get married to a beti (daughter) and field her in polls ", said Chouhan and added, "Only recently did we bring back underaged girls from various places. We won't allow this to happen to innocent girls from Madhya Pradesh."
As per the new bill, those who want to get converted will have to notify two months prior to the marriage, otherwise the wedding will be considered null and void.
The Madhya Pradesh government's passage of the bill came in the backdrop of several alleged incidents where the law has been abused in Uttar Pradesh.
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