Anti-conversion Bill will go back to Governor: Raje govt

The government and Governor Pratibha Patil have been at loggerhead over the Bill after the latter refused to give her nod to the proposed law saying it required the President’s approval. But the Cabinet adopted a resolution advising the Governor to give her approval instead of seeking the President’s opinion. ‘‘We have replied to all the queries raised by the Governor. The Cabinet is hoping that the Governor will give her assent to the Bill,’’ Rathore said.

The controversial Bill had been passed by the Assembly in its Budget session that ended last month. The Bill, condemned as draconian by the Opposition and social groups, recommends five years imprisonment for those found guilty of forcible conversions.

It also gives the state the right to put behind bars, even before a trial, any person accused of forcing a person to change his religion.

The proposed law makes ‘unlawful’ conversion under force or allurement a non-bailable crime that could lead to at least two years of imprisonment. The law, however, is applicable only in cases of conversion from the ‘original religion’. This ill-defined definition of ‘original religion’ has given rise to speculation that it is meant only to stop conversion from Hinduism.