Gandhinagar: Following go well with with Uttar Pardesh, the Gujarat Government handed a invoice to amend the ‘Dharma Swatantrya’ (Freedom of Religion) Act, 2003 which goals to fight forceful non secular conversions, higher often known as `Love Jihad`, on the concluding day of the continuing Budget session on Thursday.
Tabled by the ruling BJP, the modification seeks to ban and punish non secular conversion promising a greater life-style, divine blessings, and impersonation on the pretext of marriage. The Bill was tabled within the state meeting by Legislative Affairs Minister Pradeepsinh Jadeja.
The Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003 sought to take care of non secular conversion by means of allurement, pressure or by misrepresentation, or by every other fraudulent means. However, the state authorities felt that there have been episodes of spiritual conversion promising a greater life-style, divine blessings, and impersonation.
The Bill witnessed a large uproar in the home from the opposition and a Congress chief Imran Khedawala even tore the copy of the Bill.
Speaking concerning the provisions of the modification Bill, Khedawala stated, “Home Minister Pradeepsinh Jadeja has only mentioned that the daughters of the Hindu community are targeted by men from a specific community. Daughters, be it from any religious community, will always be our daughters. I too have over hundred testimonies of Muslim girls marrying into other religion. I am deeply hurt by the words of the minister”.
The Speaker of the House, Rajendra Trivedi, interrupted Khedawala however he continued talking.
“Nobody can force anybody to marry into a specific religion and in no religion, it is written to forcibly convert anyone to accept that. In this Bill, only one community is specifically targeted with words like ‘Jihadi’. I opposite this Bill and I’m tearing down its copy,” Khedawala stated as he tore the copy of the Bill which he had in his hand.
This was adopted by an uproar from BJP members within the House.
BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh lately enacted related legal guidelines banning `fraudulent’ conversions by means of marriage.
What does the Bill towards ‘Love Jihad’ Say?
As per the modification, a forcible “conversion by marriage, or by getting a person married, or by aiding a person to get married” shall invite imprisonment of three to 5 years and a wonderful of as much as Rs 2 lakh.
If the sufferer is a minor, lady, Dalit or tribal, the offender could also be punished with a jail time period of 4 to seven years and a wonderful of not lower than Rs 3 lakh.
If an organisation violates the regulation, the individual in cost will be sentenced to a minimal of three years and a most of ten years in jail. A wonderful of upto Rs 5 lakh will also be imposed in such circumstances.
The modification additionally supplies {that a} marriage solemnised for the aim of illegal conversion shall be declared void by a court docket.
The burden of proving innocence shall lie on the accused individual.
Any aggrieved individual, his/her dad and mom, siblings, or every other individual associated by blood, marriage or adoption might lodge an FIR underneath the regulation.
The offences underneath the Act shall be cognisable and non-bailable and shall not be investigated by an officer beneath the rank of a Deputy Superintendent of Police.
The modification additionally defines “allurement” as promising “better lifestyle, divine blessings, or otherwise”.
The BJP authorities had stated it was vital to ban “forcible conversion by marriage” and therefore part 3 of the Act wanted to be amended.
