An official spokesman said the state cabinet gave its go-ahead to the ordinance at its meeting chaired here by the chief minister. Yogi Adityanath.
In recent weeks, BJP-led states such as Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh have unveiled plans to enact laws to counter alleged attempts to convert Hindu women to Islam under the guise of marriage, which Hindu activists refer to. as “love jihad”.
“The way in which religious conversions are carried out using deception, lies, force and dishonesty is heartbreaking, and it was necessary to have a law about it,” said the cabinet minister and spokesman for the UP government, Sidharth Nath Singh.
He said the punishment under the new law is a prison term of one to five years and a fine of 15,000 rupees.
But if the woman involved is a minor or belongs to a programmed caste or programmed tribe, the jail term would range from three to 10 years, he said. The fine would increase to 25,000 rupees.
“In the case of massive conversions, the punishment is three to ten years and a fine of 50,000 rupees to organizations that surrender to them,” the minister told reporters.
Singh said that if someone wants to change their religion after marriage, they can.
But the district magistrate must be informed two months in advance in the prescribed manner, and the person can be converted once permission is granted.
He stated that this will solve public order problems.
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