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Rajasthan move to enact anti-conversion law opposed

Special Correspondent

`An attempt to undermine the Constitution '

JAIPUR: The Communist parties have opposed the move by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to enact an anti-conversion law in Rajasthan. The move was a conspiracy to harass the minorities and curtail their Constitutional rights, the parties said.

In a joint statement, the leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India said the Rajasthan Religious Freedom Bill 2006, introduced in the Rajasthan Assembly the previous week, was an attempt to undermine the Constitution of the country which ensured religious freedom and right to practice one's faith.

The Bill was the culmination of the hate campaign the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Sangh Parivar had been spearheading in the State against the minorities during the past two and a half years, the party leaders said after a joint meeting on Monday. CPI (M) State secretary Vasudev, party leaders Ravindra Shukla, Duli Chand and the CPI leaders Dushyant Ojha, Tara Singh Sidhu and D.K.Changani attended the meeting.

"The anti-minority campaign, aimed at madrasas initially now is targeting Chrisitan communities living peacefully in the State. There is a reign of terror as far as Christians are concerned as the schools and other institutions run by the community are attacked by the Sangh Parivar activists and are later closed making use of the Government machinery," the statement said.

The Communist leaders said the new legislation would create "a sense of insecurity among the minorities in the State and also would make them more vulnerable to the attacks of the fanatic religious groups".

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