With Congress cornered, Karnataka Assembly passes anti-conversion bill

The bill was passed by a voice vote, even as Congress members were protesting from the Well of the House

The Karnataka Assembly passed Thursday the controversial anti-conversion bill amid protests as the ruling BJP cornered the Congress with documents to show that the proposed law was first drafted when Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah was the chief minister in 2016.

The Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill will now go to the Council. Once passed there, Karnataka will become the 9th state to enact the anti-conversion law.

Siddaramaiah was caught on the backfoot when Law Minister JC Madhuswamy told the Assembly that the Bill is an improved version of the one that was drafted by the Law Commission and approved when the Congress was in power. Siddaramaiah had even signed the file approving the draft to be placed in the Cabinet.

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A counter came at the fag end of the debate when Siddaramaiah flashed a November 2009 petition signed by some “BJP-RSS” personalities to the then CM B S Yediyurappa seeking an anti-conversion law.

“I won't dispute the documents. It's true I signed the file. But, it was this [2009] petition that was sent to the Law Commission. It’s an RSS agenda,” Siddaramaiah said. “The Bill drafted in 2016 is a world apart from the one you've brought.”

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai asked Siddaramaiah why the Congress acted upon an RSS petition. “If it was an RSS demand - the RSS is open about its stand against religious conversion - why didn't you stop the drafting process? You wanted to go ahead because the then Virbhadra Singh government in Himachal Pradesh brought the law in 2016,” he said.

The Bill was passed on a voice vote when Congress MLAs were in the Well of the House. The JD(S) also opposed the Bill, but their MLAs were not in the Well.

Earlier, Siddaramaiah said the Bill is unnecessary as the IPC has provisions to punish forced religious conversion. He also attacked the Bill for placing the burden of proof on the accused. He then cited Census data to show that the Hindu population had not decreased as it was being propagated.

On penalising "conversion by marriage", Siddaramaiah said any adult is free to marry a person of one's choice. This provision, which is also present in Gujarat's anti-conversion law, remains challenged in the Gujarat High Court, he pointed out.

Terming it a "draconian and unconstitutional" law, Siddaramaiah accused the BJP of raking up emotional issues to divert attention from relevant problems.

The Bill proposes imprisonment of 3 to 5 years with a fine of Rs 25,000 for 'forced' conversion. Converting a minor, woman or an SC/ST person will attract a jail term of 3-10 years, with a fine of Rs 50,000. Mass conversion will attract 3-10 years of jail time with a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh.

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