Close behind two BJP-administered states – Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh – upholding dubious laws to obstruct ‘love jihad’, the Gujarat government is likewise intending to acquaint a lawful arrangement with act against people who power a person into strict transformation for the sake of adoration and marriage.
In spite of the fact that the expressed goal of the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003 is “prohibition of conversion from one religion to another by the use of force or allurement or by fraudulent means,” the state government has been reflecting on presentation of an inside and out new law to check love jihad or further reinforcing the current demonstration to incorporate the part of ‘love jihad’.
The state government has coordinated divisions concerned – home, law and administrative and parliamentary issues – to legitimately vet the new laws against ‘affection jihad’ which have been authorized by the UP and MP state governments.
Depts told to check anti-conversion law
Divisions have been approached to see these new laws vis-àvis the current enemy of transformation law that exists in the state and prescribe to the public authority whether there is a particular need of another law on the lines of UP and MP or whether there is need to revise the current law,” key government sources said.
“Our existing law has a provision to act against a person who indulges in forced conversion in the name of love or marriage. However, the state government has been seeking feedback from elected legislators as well as groups from society on whether there ought to be stricter provisions to contain `love jihad’.
The government, meanwhile, is also considering the ordinance route to introduce a law against `love jihad’,” sources added.
The Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003 orders that a resident acquire earlier endorsement from the area authority, for change. Under the current law, any individual saw as blameworthy of enjoying constrained transformation can confront detainment as long as three years and a fine of up to Rs 50,000. On the off chance that the individual who has been compelled to change over is a minor, a lady or an individual having a place with booked position or planned clan, the greatest detainment has been fixed at four years and a fine which can stretch out up to Rs one lakh.
Sources near the advancement educated that, “The government is keen to make the existing law stricter, with specific provision to control the love jihad like forced conversion.’’ Meanwhile, according to true figures, lion’s share of uses for strict transformation have been from Hindus, while focal Gujarat has seen most strict transformations. Under the Freedom of religion Act, it is required to look for authorization of particular locale organizations for transformation.
Answering to inquiries in the Gujarat get together, the state government – while giving pertinent figures to 2016 and 2017 – had said in February 2018 that the public authority got 402 applications from Hindus, 33 applications from Muslims, 11 from Christians and one from a Sikh, looking for consent to grasp different religions.
In July 2019, the state government educated in the get together that focal Gujarat saw most strict changes in the first two years.
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