The Madhya Pradesh Assembly passed the 2021 Freedom of Religion Bill with a voice vote on Monday amid opposition from Congress and chants of ‘Jai Shree Ram’ from the treasury banks.
Previously, the Religious Freedom Ordinance was approved at a special cabinet meeting in December last week and went into effect on January 9. Since then, there have been at least 16 cases registered under the new ordinance across Madhya Pradesh.
Speaking to reporters after the bill was passed, Interior Minister Narottam Mishra said: “Any love that leads to jihad, we will oppose it. Any love that offends our feelings, we will oppose it. Any love that makes our daughters and sisters suffer, we will oppose ”.
The minister said he was saddened by how Congress has opposed the bill on the day that marks International Women’s Day. He accused Congress of playing appeasement politics and spreading disinformation.
This comes after the leader of Congress, Dr. Govind Singh, accused Mishra of getting the bill passed under a similar law passed by the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand to earn chocolate points in the Court of Interior Minister Amit Shah. Opposing the bill, the former minister and Lahar MLA called Mishra Shah’s warrior in MP and said: “This bill does not violate article 21 of the constitution that guarantees personal liberty and liberty and article 25 that does it guarantee a person the freedom to choose religion? by his own will?
Heena Kavera, the MLA of the Balaghat Congress, questioned the basis behind the drafting of this law and asked if any survey has been conducted to substantiate the need for such a bill. “Considering that there is already a law (MP Freedom of Religion Act-1968) against forced conversion, why is this new bill needed? … The total number of FIRs registered in this regard should be given by the Minister of the Interior while responding succulently “.
However, emphasizing the need for a new law prohibiting religious conversion through fraudulent means, Mandsaur’s BJP MLA, Yashpal Singh Sisodia, noted that in this age of social media, a Rafiq identifies himself as Ravi se he befriends a girl and marries in court until the innocent girl does not realize how she had been deceived.
Speaking in favor of the bill, Hoshangabad MLA BJP Sitaram Sharma suggested that there should be changes to Section 4 of the law that only allows blood relatives, siblings, guardians to file a complaint to obtain a FIR record claiming forced conversion . . Sharma suggested: “Social institutions should also be included in this because many times these people do not show up out of fear.”
The bill has a jail provision of up to 10 years and a fine of Rs 1 lakh to curb fraudulent conversions made using misrepresentation, seduction and force, among other things.
According to the interior minister, 23 cases have been recorded so far with the highest of seven cases in the Bhopal range, five in Indore, four in Jabalpur and Rewa and three in the Gwalior division. However, according to police records, there are only 16 cases so far.
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