New Delhi: Hemant Soren, Jharkhand’s chief minister-in-waiting, has said his government will review the stringent anti-conversion law brought in by his predecessor Raghubar Das’ BJP government.
Soren, who will take oath on 29 December, told ThePrint in a telephonic interview that one of his Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-Congress-Rashtriya Janata Dal government’s first acts will be to discuss the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, and decide whether to implement or junk it.
The alliance staked claim Tuesday evening to form government, after winning a comfortable majority in the Jharkhand assembly elections, the results of which were declared Monday. The alliance won 47 of the state’s 81 seats, and has received unconditional support from the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik), which won three seats.
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‘Religion should not be used as a divisive force’
The BJP government passed the Religious Freedom Bill in 2017, which made forced religious conversion a non-bailable criminal offence. The intent was to consolidate the non-Christian tribal vote by creating a rift between tribals who have converted to Christianity and those who have not.
According to the 2011 Census, 26 per cent of the people of Jharkhand are tribals, while 4.3 per cent are Christians.
Christian missionaries, active in Jharkhand’s tribal belt, were at the receiving end of the anti-conversion law.
Asked about the law, Soren said: “Religion should not be used as a divisive force. It’s an individual choice. We will definitely review it once the new Vidhan Sabha is formed.”
Domicile policy
Besides the anti-conversion law, Soren said his government will also review the domicile policy that the Raghubar Das government passed in 2016.
The policy mandates that those who have lived and worked in Jharkhand for 30 years and have acquired immovable properties automatically qualify as residents of the state.
“We will review the domicile policy for the welfare of each Jharkhandi, and appropriate policy measures will be taken up,” Soren said.
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Focus on tribals
Soren said tribals are the epicenter of Jharkhand. “Human development indicators need a strong improvement, and our first priority will be to frame a special sustainable development program for the deprived sections of Jharkhand, of which tribals are the major group,” he said.
He added that his government has no plans to review the two tribal land laws — the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act and the Santhal Paraganas Tenancy Act. The BJP government had attempted to amend them to make the sale of tribal land to non-tribals easier, but had to withdraw it amid opposition from tribals.
“We will try to maintain the true spirit of these acts, which were incorporated after a long struggle and martyrdom of Bhagwan Birsa Munda, (Santhal rebellion heroes) Sidhu and Kanhu, among others,” Soren said.
Citizenship law will be discussed first
Soren also said his government will discuss whether to implement the CAA, which has sparked nationwide protests.
“It will be the first issue that we will decide once the assembly is formed,” Soren said.
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