Rajasthan governor refuses to sign anti-conversion bill

Jaipur, India - Rajasthan's anti-conversion bill has run into problems as Governor Pratibha Patil refused to approve it after its passage in the budget session of the state assembly.

Patil has recommended the "controversial" bill, aimed at checking forcible religious conversions in the state, be sent to the president for his assent.

A state government official told IANS that the law department had received the bill late Thursday.

The governor, in her comments on the bill, reportedly said that certain provisions in the bill directly or indirectly affect a citizen's fundamental right of religion. She added that in this ambiguous situation, she is recommending the bill to the president, instead of approving it.

Earlier, the opposition parties, including the Congress, had requested the governor not to grant her approval to the bill as it was introduced due to excessive pressure from the right-wing Rashtriya Swam Sewak Sangh (RSS).

The Rajasthan Dharma Swatantrata bill, 2006 (Rajasthan Religious Freedom Act), was tabled by Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria amidst a walkout by the opposition Congress on April 7.

It seeks to prohibit religious conversion by use of force, allurement or fraudulent means. According to the bill, whoever contravenes its provisions shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term not less than two years, which may extend to five years, and also a fine of up to Rs.50,000. It states that any offence under this act shall be cognisable and non-bailable and will be investigated by a senior police officer.

"The state government has observed that some religious and other institutions, bodies and individuals are found to be involved in unlawful conversion from one religion to another by allurement, fraudulent means or force, which at times has caused annoyance in other communities," Kataria had said while tabling the bill.

"The inter-religious fabric is weakened by such illegal activities and causes law and order problems for the law enforcing machinery of the state. In order to curb such illegal activities and to maintain harmony amongst people of various religions, we have enacted a special law for this purpose," he noted.

The state government had earlier claimed that it had conducted a detailed study of all the anti-conversion laws existing in other states of the country before preparing the draft of the bill.

Similar anti-conversion laws already exist in several other states of India including Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.