Chhattisgarh Home Minister Vijay Sharma said Monday that his government would soon bring a stringent law to deal with “illegal conversions” in the state. Sharma’s reply came in response to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Ajay Chandrakar allegation in the ongoing Assembly Session that that “changai sabhas” (faith healing) were held in the state allegedly to “lure innocent, helpless and poor people with various kinds of temptations to mislead and convert them”. Significantly, although Chhattisgarh already penalises forced conversions under the Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Act, 1968, the BJP-led Vishnu Deo Sai government has been mooting a new and more stringent anti-conversion law for the state. A new bill has reportedly been in the works since last year, although it is yet to be tabled in the Assembly. A former minister, Chandrakar’s notice in the ongoing assembly alleges: “NGOs formed for purposes like health, education and social work are getting funds from abroad and using the money for religious conversion work. There are many such NGOs in the state, which are registered on religious basis and are also getting funds from abroad. Nine out of 19 registered institutions in Bastar district and 15 out of 18 institutions in Jashpur district are being run by Christian missionaries”. “Most of the institutions are operating in Jashpur (which is Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai’s home district). At the same time, most cases of conversion are also from this district,” he said, adding that these organisations did not file audit reports. Home Minister Vijay Sharma denied Sharma’s allegation that conversions were increasing “due to lack of control on these institutions”. “On receiving complaints of conversion by luring people under the guise of healing meetings in the state, police conduct proper investigation and take prompt legal action. Regarding conversion, legal action has been taken by registering criminal cases by registering zero cases in the year 2019, 01 in the year 2020, 07 in the year 2021, 03 in the year 2022, zero in the year 2023, 12 in the year 2024, 04 in the year 2025,” he said. Speaking to the media later in the day, Sharma said, “Now action is being taken against illegal conversions. We will soon bring a stringent law to ensure illegal conversions do not take place. If we receive any complaints that audits of these NGOs are not done properly, then we will act on it."
