Madhya Pradesh, governed by the Bharatiya Janata party, on Tuesday enforced a strict law that put violators behind the bar if he or she indulges in religious conversion through dishonest means including those for the sake of marriage.
State chief, Shivraj Singh, is the second to enforce this law to criminalise religious conversion by marriage - popularly referred as Love Jihad - after a Hindu monk adopted it in Uttar Pradesh. According to the Act, every conversion should be scrutinised and certified by the state.
The new law stipulates a jail term of up to 10 years for violators. State Home Minister Narottam Mishra said that the ordinance, referred to as the Freedom of Religion Bill, 2020, has been sent to state Governor Anandiben Patel for approval.
"Several ordinances including Freedom of Religion Ordinance were approved in the virtual cabinet meeting headed by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday," Mishra said.
The state home minister further mentioned that bill could not be presented in the state Legislative Assembly as the session was deferred because of the Covid-19 situation.
The proposed law in Madhya Pradesh, having population of around 85 million, will prohibit religious conversion or such efforts by misrepresentation, allurement, force, undue influence, coercion, marriage or any other fraudulent means.
Abetment and conspiracy for religious conversion will also be prohibited under the law. Any marriage solemnised in violation of the proposed law will be considered null and void.
Provisions of the legislation makes it mandatory to apply to the district administration 60 days in advance in case any person willing to convert to other religion.
Hinduism is majority religion in Madhya Pradesh with 90.89% followers. Islam is second most popular religion in the state with approximately 6.57 % following it.
The BJP government in Uttar Pradesh had also taken the ordinance route to notify a similar law last month. However, they have come under the hammer and been heavily critisied for stopping marriages and making unwanted arrests.
