After UP, Madhya Pradesh Cabinet Passes Anti-Conversion Bill With 10 Years Prison

Saturday, 26 December 2020Newsdesk

The Madhya Pradesh Cabinet today passed by a voice vote a bill aimed at curbing forced religious conversions. If passed into law, it will include a maximum punishment of up to 10 years in jail and up to ₹ 1 lakh in fine, with the burden of proof virtually falling on the accused and those associated with the accused, including organisations and institutions.

New Delhi, 26 December 2020

The Dharma Swatantrya (Religious Freedom) Bill 2020 was tabled at a meeting of the state Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, ahead of the Legislative Assembly session slated to be held later this month. Hinting at a possible political angle in such suspect conversions, Mr Chouhan today said such instances have surfaced where if someone's looking to capture a panchayat, "get married to a beti (daughter) and field her in polls". "Only recently did we bring back underaged girls from various places. We won't allow this to happen to innocent girls from Madhay Pradesh," the Chief Minister said.

Source -NDTV