Bengaluru, Nov 7 (PTI) The state unit of the VHP on Saturday urged Chief Minister D K Shivakumar not to repeal or dilute the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Act, 2022, opposing demands by Archbishop Peter Machado and other organisations for its withdrawal.
In a memorandum submitted to the chief minister by Vishwa Hindu Parishad representatives and other civil society organisations, the group argued that the legislation was secular and aimed at preventing religious conversions through force, fraud, misrepresentation, coercion and material inducement.
“We strongly urge the state government to reject these motivated demands and maintain the rule of law to protect the demographic, social and cultural fabric of Karnataka,” it said.
The opposition comes over a week after Archbishop of Bangalore Peter Machado called on the state government to repeal the 2022 anti-conversion law and other laws and policies affecting minorities and marginalised communities, and to strengthen legal safeguards against hate speech and hate crimes.
The VHP, however, maintained that the Act was non-communal and prevented public disorder. It said the law targeted no specific religion and penalised only criminal methods of changing faith, namely force, fraud, misrepresentation, coercion and material inducement.
The organisation questioned why anyone should object to a law that, it said, only banned force and fraud, unless they intended to use those very methods.
“Objections to this Act directly imply a desire to carry out unethical and unlawful mass conversions, which pose an imminent danger to law and order and incite avoidable communal conflicts,” the VHP alleged in its memorandum.
Citing legislative precedents in Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Arunachal Pradesh, it said anti-conversion laws had been retained by successive governments, including Congress-led ones, irrespective of political affiliation.
It cited the Supreme Court’s 1977 judgment in Rev Stainislaus vs State of Madhya Pradesh to argue that the right to propagate religion under Article 25 did not include a fundamental right to convert another person through force or fraud.
The VHP argued that election manifestos were declarations of political intent, not binding legal documents, and that an electoral victory could not be read as a mandate to repeal laws protecting religious freedom and social stability.
“A ruling government is bound by the Constitution of India and the rule of law, not by the clauses of a party manifesto. Fulfilling a manifesto promise cannot take precedence over maintaining public order and upholding laws that protect citizens from exploitation,” it said.
“Therefore, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Karnataka, earnestly demands that the Government of Karnataka categorically reject the representations made by Archbishop Peter Machado and associated groups and refrain from repealing or diluting any clause of the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Act, 2022,” the VHP said.
It called upon the state government to strictly enforce both the anti-conversion Act and the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, 2020, to ensure full legal protection for the state’s cultural identity and communal harmony. PTI AMP SSK
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