Haryana introduces Bill to stop ‘forcible’ conversions, faces heated protests in House

According to the Haryana Prevention of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill, 2022, the onus of proof lies with the accused. If conversion is done by allurement, use of force, fraudulent means of coercion, then there is a provision of imprisonment of one to five years and a fine of not less than Rs 1 lakh.

Similar Bills in the recent past have been passed in BJP-ruled states including Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

Introducing the Bill, Home Minister Anil Vij targeted the Congress over the country’s partition on the basis of religion and 1984 anti-Sikh riots, sparking protests by the Opposition with Kadian alleging that it reflects the intentions of “divisive policies” and demanded that it be sent to a select committee.

Other Congress MLAs, including BB Batra, Geeta Bhukkal and others, termed the Bill an attempt by the BJP government to “create a divide” between Hindus and Muslims.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, intervened saying there was no mention of any religion in the Bill.

He said that the Bill does not discriminate against any religion and only deals with forcible conversions. Pointing to the Opposition legislators, the CM added: “All the people sitting on these benches can get their religion converted to whichever one they want to.”

Khattar’s remark was strongly opposed by the Congress members, who later took back his statement.

Kadian tore the copy of the Bill, promoting the Speaker to admonish the Congress legislator for violating the decorum and dignity of the House.

Gupta asked Kadian to either seek an apology from the House or face action.

Refusing, Kadian justified his act and said that he had barely torn off the “piece of paper”. The Speaker, however, objected to Kadian’s assertions and contended: “Once a Bill has been introduced on the floor of the House, it becomes a constitutionally legal document”.

Despite repeated warnings by the Speaker, Kadian refused to apologise.

Kadian was supported by other Congress MLAs who occupied the Well of the House to lodge their protest.

While the Speaker attempted to restore order of the House, Congress legislators continued their protests, terming the Bill “unconstitutional”.

Speaker eventually asked Kadian to leave the House even as he continued to raise slogans against the Bill.

“I respect the Speaker’s feelings, but I’m not sorry for my act. I have only torn a simple piece of paper. I had torn copies of the three farm laws as well here,” Kadian added.

Saying that his “habit” of tearing papers in the House was not acceptable, the Speaker said: “The Bill can be a piece of trash to you, but not for the House. It is my duty to maintain the decorum of the House.”

As other Congress MLAs joined Kadian, he entered into a heated exchange with Vij. In the din, Kadian also allegedly passed derogatory remarks at Vij. The Treasury benches demanded Kadian’s expulsion.

Congress MLA Batra then read out the rules of the Vidhan Sabha and said the Speaker could not expel any Member of the House. The Speaker vehemently denied this and said that he had the power to expel any Member who disrupts the smooth functioning of the House.

With the proceedings descending into more chaos, Speaker Gupta called in the Marshals to remove Kadian from the House.

The MLA was eventually suspended for the remaining sittings of the Budget Session, after which Congress MLAs walked out.

When the proceedings of the House resumed after lunch, the Congress legislators protested against Kadian’s suspension and criticised the CM for his remarks aimed at them. Later, the Congress legislators again staged a walkout. Reacting to Kadian’s act, Khattar told reporters that he violated the decorum and dignity of the House.

The CM said the matter related to the members involved in such incidents would be referred to the Committee of Privileges.