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You are here: Home / Archives for Anti-Conversion Law

Anti-conversion law outside Centre’s jurisdiction, says law ministry

April 16, 2015 by Nasheman

sadananda gowda

New Delhi: BJP may have strongly endorsed Sangh Parivar’s demand for a national law against religious conversions, but the central government is not competent to enact such a law, says the law ministry citing a Supreme Court ruling.

According to the law ministry’s opinion forwarded recently to the home ministry, the SC had in a 1977 ruling made it clear that ‘anti-conversion law’ falls within the purview of ‘public order’, a ‘state’ subject as per the seventh Schedule of the Constitution.

“The Supreme Court ruling (in the case Rev Stainislaus Vs State of Madhya Pradesh & Others) had upheld the laws on conversion enacted by Madhya Pradesh and Orissa (now Odisha), observing that they fell within the purview of ‘public order’, or Entry I of List II of the Seventh Schedule…since this is the law of the land, the Centre has no jurisdiction to enact an anti-conversion law,” a home ministry official said, citing the law ministry’s opinion.

The apex court had, in the 1977 verdict, observed that “the impugned Acts… fall within the purview of Entry I of List II of the Seventh Schedule as they are meant to avoid disturbances to the public order by prohibiting conversion from one religion to another in a manner reprehensible to the conscience of the community”.

Many states have their own laws on conversions, including Odisha, MP, Chhattisgarh, Arunachal Pradesh and Gujarat. Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan too have enacted laws banning illegal religious conversions. As for other states and Union Territories, forcible religious conversions have to be dealt with under Article 25 of the Constitution that guarantees freedom of religion.

The law ministry’s opinion against a central law on conversion comes less than a month after home minister Rajnath Singh’s called for a national debate on the need for such a law. “There are sometimes rumours and controversies about ‘ghar wapsi’ and conversions. Why should there by any conversion at all?” he had said on the sidelines of a conference of heads of state minority commissions in New Delhi last month.

“In other countries, it is the minorities which ask for anti-conversion law. Here, we are only saying that there should be an anti-conversion law. There should be debate over it. We must think on bringing anti-conversion law. I humbly request all of you to think over it,” Singh had said.

In the wake of a row over alleged forced conversions by some Sangh Parivar outfits, BJP members and some Union ministers had said that they were ready to bring an anti- conversion law even as they put the onus on the opposition parties for supporting such a move.

(Agencies)

Filed Under: India Tagged With: Anti-Conversion Law, Religious conversion

BJP, Govt put onus on Oppn for anti-conversion law

December 22, 2014 by Nasheman

conversion-Aligarh

Chennai/Hyderabad: As a controversy over forced religious conversions by some Sangh Parivar outfits raged, the BJP and the Government today put the onus on the opposition parties for bringing an anti-conversion law for which they were ready.

BJP President Amit Shah said government is ready to bring an anti-conversion law and dared the “so-called secular” opposition parties to support it while Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu said the opposition did not respond positively to this offer.

The comments by Shah and Naidu came a day after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat strongly defended the current controversial campaign of the Sangh Parivar and dared the opposition to support a law banning religious conversions.

Shah asserted that such incidents would not derail the BJP-led NDA Government from its development agenda.

“BJP has made its stand clear on conversions. And no one can derail the party (government) from its development agenda,” he told a press conference in Chennai.

He was replying to a question whether the campaign by some fringe groups on the conversion issue would affect the development agenda of the Narendra Modi Government.

Asked repeatedly about the involvement of RSS in the matter, Shah evaded a direct reply and said, “RSS is a nationalist organisation and I have no doubt over this.”

Opposition parties have been seeking to corner the government on the ‘ghar wapsi’ campaign in parts of North India and stalled proceedings in Rajya Sabha demanding a statement from Modi.

Shah, who is on a two-day visit to Chennai since yesterday, also said BJP’s stand on forced conversions was clear and the government was ready to bring a law to ban them.

“BJP is clear about its stand on forced conversions. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu has said in Parliament that the government is ready to bring in a law against forced conversions. Are the so called secular parties ready to support it?” he asked.

Shah declined to comment on Bhagwat’s remarks yesterday on trying to create a strong Hindu society.

Asked about Bhagwat’s comments in favour of bringing in a law against religious conversion, Naidu said the government would not bring any law against conversion without a larger consensus on it.

“BJP had already announced that it would be right to bring a law against conversion as per the prevailing situation in the country.

“But, that is possible only when there is general consensus. Without consensus, the government would not bring any such law. An advice is given. Everybody has got the right to give advice.

There is a right to write. You have the right to make commentary,” he told reporters in Hyderabad.

“If you feel the state government’s laws are not effective, there is need for an all-India law, the government has offered on the floor of Parliament, let’s go for an all-India law. The opposition did not respond positively,” he said.

Conversions have been happening in the country since pre-Independence era, he added.

(PTI)

Filed Under: India Tagged With: Anti-Conversion Law, BJP, Hindutva, Religious conversion, RSS, Venkaiah Naidu

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