Bengaluru: After over three years in power in Karnataka, the Congress party is likely to start deliberations on the controversial anti-conversion law, with plans to repeal the Act in the upcoming winter session of the state legislature, ThePrint has learnt.
People aware of the developments said that the government had delayed moving on the issue for various reasons, but the D.K. Shivakumar-led government would now start discussions and deliberations on repealing the law.
“We have wanted to repeal it for a while, but we lacked a majority in the (legislative) council. Now, after the recent elections, we have a majority and will move to repeal the act,” according to one state cabinet minister, requesting anonymity.
Although the Congress has previously discussed repealing the Act, it has exercised caution about aggressively removing several controversial BJP-era bills and acts to avoid alienating any community, while hoping to consolidate support from others.
The Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021, better known as the anti-conversion act, was passed on 9 September 2022, by the Basavaraj Bommai-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. The bill passed through various stages after it was first mooted, including being pushed through with an ordinance in May 2022.
The law’s motive is to stop conversion by “force, allurement or fraud”, and it also imposes heavy penalties, including jail terms up to 10 years and fines of Rs 1 lakh.
According to the existing anti-conversion law in effect in Karnataka, no one should be converted by another “by use or practice of misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means or by any of these means or by promise of marriage, nor shall any person abet or conspire such conversion”.
Those willing to convert on their own accord must submit an application to the District Collector who will scrutinise the application and interview the applicant to ascertain if the conversion is not by force or allurement.
If the application is found to be genuine, other departments will be informed to ensure the person converting loses benefits from their existing caste or religion and is included in the category into which they are converting.
Nearly a dozen states in India, the majority of which are ruled by the BJP, have such anti-conversion laws in place. In Karnataka, the law has remained in place despite the Congress dislodging the BJP in 2023 with the promise of repealing what it called a “draconian act” as well as several others.
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‘Won’t upset the apple cart’
In the run-up to the 2023 assembly elections, the Congress made several promises, including the release of the socio-economic & educational survey, the repeal of the anti-conversion and anti-cattle slaughter laws, among others.
However, it has been unable to act on most of them so far. After much delay, the Karnataka government ordered the withdrawal of its February 2022 order on school uniforms, which had banned young Muslim students from wearing the Hijab inside classrooms.
The issue had become a flashpoint of minority rights in the country, with students as young as 14 facing resistance from their own teachers and classmates to wearing the Hijab.
The Congress kept its distance from the Hijab row despite Muslims being one of its strongest political support bases.
Activists and analysts believe that the Congress will not act to repeal these laws, but look the other way if they are violated. It had repeatedly fallen back on the excuse that the party does not have a majority in the council and was at the mercy of the BJP and JD(S) alliance.
In June, the Congress won five out of the seven seats, taking its tally to 38 in the 75-seater upper house as against 24 of the BJP and 6 of the JD(S). There are five vacant seats and one independent other than those associated with the mainstream political parties.
“As far as the repealing of the anti-conversion law, which was passed in 2021, it was (an) illogical (act). We strongly opposed it. It was there in our manifesto that once we come to power, we will repeal it,” B.K. Hariprasad, Congress state president, told India Today on Tuesday.
He said that the concerns raised by the Christian community are “genuine” and that the Congress government will “definitely” repeal the anti-conversion law. His comments came a day after Christian community leaders met All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge, requesting the repeal of the anti-conversion law.
Rev. Dr. Peter Machado, Archbishop of Bangalore, led the delegation, which also demanded nominating a Christian representative to the legislative council, adequate representation in boards and corporations and a one percent exclusive reservation under the state backward classes list.
However, Hariprasad said that backward classes reservation is based on social and educational backwardness, not religion. Under the state backward classes list, Muslims have a 4 percent reservation under 2A.
The Christian community is under 3B, which also has 4 percent but shares it with the larger Veerashaiva-Lingayat umbrella communities.
Under the Shivakumar government, there are apprehensions on whether he would rake up such controversial subjects with imminent elections for Zilla and Taluk Panchayat, Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA, the city’s civic body) and the 2028 assembly polls.
“The chief minister runs from one temple to another, frequently visiting seers. If they want to repeal something, the party must first believe in it. As of now, their focus remains on poverty alleviation and caste… They do not want to upset the apple cart,” a Mysuru-based political analyst told ThePrint, requesting anonymity.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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