On Tuesday, the Haryana meeting handed the Haryana Prevention of Illegal Conversion of Faith Invoice, 2022 amid opposition via Congress and walkout from the meeting. The invoice that was once presented all through the finances consultation of the Vidhan Sabha on March 4, prohibits spiritual conversions which can be effected ‘thru misrepresentation, drive, undue affect, coercion, allurement or via any fraudulent way or via marriage’, making it an offense.
Haryana Leader Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, whilst talking at the invoice, mentioned that the invoice isn’t geared toward discriminating towards any faith and that it talks most effective about ‘forcible conversions’. “The invoice is geared toward instilling concern amongst those that devote crimes. An individual can alternate faith as consistent with his personal unfastened will, however it is going to no longer be allowed to occur to someone forcibly. Motion can be taken towards such other people in the event that they convert faith via deceit or via giving any roughly greed”, he mentioned.
हरियाणा में जबरदस्ती धर्म परिवर्तन बिल्कुल नहीं होने दिया जाएगा।
इसी उद्देश्य से आज सदन में ‘हरियाणा विधिविरुद्ध धर्म परिवर्तन निवारण विधेयक, 2022’ पास कर दिया गया है। %.twitter.com/p2sH0HXQjw
— Manohar Lal (@mlkhattar) March 22, 2022
Criticizing the invoice, the Chief of the Opposition, Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that there was once no requirement for a contemporary regulation as the prevailing regulations have already got a provision of punishment for forcible conversions. He added that the implementation of latest regulation may build up dispute a number of the households the place inter-religion marriages have taken position. “If dispute takes position between the husband and spouse after two years of marriage and a grievance is lodged towards him for forcible conversion of faith, then the person can be at the back of the bars”, Hooda mentioned suggesting addition of a provision during which no such grievance is lodged after a month of marriage.
Senior Congress chief Kiran Choudhary also known as the brand new regulation a ‘black bankruptcy’ in Haryana’s historical past and opined that the invoice would deepen the communal divide and may have grave penalties one day. Additionally, every other senior Congress chief, Raghuvir Singh Kadian, mentioned that there was once no urgency for passing the invoice and that it was once a pointy slap of divisive politics, which he termed as ‘no longer excellent. He additionally mentioned that inter-caste marriage will have to as a substitute be inspired via the federal government.
Provisions of the anti-conversion regulation in Haryana-
The Haryana Prevention of Illegal Conversion of Faith Invoice, 2022, supplies for imprisonment of 1 to 5 years and a wonderful of no longer not up to Rs 1 lakh, if the conversion is practiced via ‘allurement, use of drive, fraudulent way or coercion’. In keeping with the regulation, the onus of evidence lies with the accused. It, then again, supplies an exemption on the subject of an individual who reconverts to his speedy earlier faith as the similar shall no longer be deemed to be a conversion beneath this Act.
Additional the regulation says, whoever converts or makes an attempt to transform a minor, a lady or an individual belonging to the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes, can be punished with imprisonment for a time period which shall no longer be not up to 4 years and might lengthen to ten years and prone to a wonderful no longer not up to Rs 3 lakh. The invoice additionally supplies for stating marriages, which have been performed only for the aim of conversion from one faith to every other faith, null and void.
The draft of the Invoice was once licensed via the state Cupboard chaired via CM Khattar in February. The federal government had then mentioned to have spotted a number of circumstances of conversion with an schedule to extend the energy of 1’s faith. “Other people marry individuals of alternative faith via both misrepresentation or concealment in their faith and once you have married they drive such different particular person to transform to their faith. Such incidents no longer most effective infringe the liberty of faith of the individuals so transformed but additionally militate towards the secular cloth of our society”, the govt. had mentioned.
As famous via the Haryana Leader Minister, the brand new regulation only targets at instilling concern within the minds of those that forcefully observe conversion in society with a vested hobby. The invoice isn’t geared toward discriminating towards any faith.
Identical Invoice handed via a number of Indian states-
It is very important be aware that identical anti-conversion expenses have not too long ago been handed within the states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka with the opposition events sharply criticizing the regulation. Within the state of Karnataka, Congress and the contributors of the Christian group protested towards the anti-conversion invoice. Siddaramaiah, chief of the Opposition of the Karnataka Legislative Meeting additionally affirmed that the anti-conversion regulation can be rescinded when Congress would come to energy. Within the commentary, he had mentioned, “The Congress will scrap the anti-conversion invoice inside every week of the celebration coming to energy”.
In November 2020, the state of Uttar Pradesh had additionally licensed the invoice titled Uttar Pradesh Vidhi Virudhh Dharm Samparivartan Pratisdhedh Adhyadesh, 2020 or UP Prohibition of Illegal Non secular Conversion Ordinance 2020, criminalizing Love Jihad and different varieties of unlawful conversion. The regulation has provisions that may land offenders in prison for as much as 1 to five years and draw in a wonderful of Rs 15,000. The invoice additionally has provisions for 10 years’ prison for mass conversion.
Different states like Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Uttarakhand have additionally handed anti-conversion expenses.