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Rights groups urge Opposition to resist religious Bill

JAIPUR: Civil rights groups in Rajasthan have described the Religious Freedom Bill re-introduced by the State Government in the Assembly as a ploy of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to perpetuate its politics of “fear, hatred and intimidation” and called upon the opposition Congress to resist the Bill when it comes up for discussion and passage in the House on Thursday.

Activists working with several civil liberty organisations said at an interaction with the opposition MLAs here earlier this week that the Bill of 2008, introduced after the State Government’s similar attempt failed in 2006, had a number of punitive and retaliatory provisions that would lead to continuous harassment of minority communities and make their life difficult.

The People’s Union for Civil Liberties, Janvadi Lekhak Sangh, Rajasthan Samagra Seva Sangh and other civil and human rights groups will hold a massive demonstration outside the Assembly on Thursday to register their protest against the BJP’s “renewed attempt” to consolidate its vote bank by projecting all conversions as suspect and bringing them within the Government regulation.

The Rajasthan Dharma Swatantraya Bill, 2006, is at present awaiting assent of President Pratibha Patil, who ironically as the then Governor of Rajasthan had returned it to the State Government in May 2006 asking it to get it cleared from the then President. The Bill has since been pending with Rashtrapati Bhavan.

PUCL general secretary Kavita Srivastava pointed out that one of the most objectionable provisions in the new Bill – tabled even when the previous one was pending – was the power under Section 4(2) to cancel registration of societies and trusts if it was found that their funds were used or were “contemplated to be used” for conversion.

“The local authorities will use this provision to undertake survey and seize books and literature of Christian missionary bodies to show that they intended to convert the people,” said legal expert Ajay Jain. The law will facilitate targeting of bodies such as Emmanuel Mission of Kota, with the State Government earlier being unable to seize its properties.

Samagra Seva Sangh president Sawai Singh said the provision under Section 5 for giving 30 days’ notice to the District Magistrate for intention to convert and the DM investigating whether there is force or allurement was an infringement of the fundamental right to freedom of religion. “The proviso that no notice is required if a person reverts back to his original religion exposes the blatantly partisan attitude and real intention of the BJP-led Government behind introducing the new piece of legislation,” said Mr. Singh, adding that the Bill amounted to an attack on multicultural democracy and was a clear instance of the BJP’s “majoritarian saffron agenda”. Civil rights activists also wondered if a punitive or criminal action could be initiated for conversion when religion itself was not defined anywhere in the Bill. “It is going to leave a large room for discretion and will surely lead to misuse of the law to hound and persecute weaker sections among the minority communities,” said PUCL State president Prem Krishna Sharma.

Pradesh Congress Committee president C.P. Joshi, who attended the dialogue, assured the activists that his party would “oppose tooth and nail” the Bill both inside and outside the Assembly. “We will devise our own strategy to fight because the number game in the House is not in our favour,” he added.

Mr. Joshi said a large number of citizens’ groups should meet the Governor, S.K. Singh, with the appeal to reserve the contentious Bill for consideration of the President. Congress MLA Sanyam Lodha also said a mass movement against the proposed legislation would help defeat the BJP’s designs to divide society on communal lines to serve its electoral agenda.

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