Karnataka Legislative Council passes anti conversion bill
Bengaluru, Sep 15: Karnataka Legislative Council on Thursday passed the contentious "anti conversion bill", amid objections from the opposition Congress and JD(S).
The 'Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill' was passed by the Legislative Assembly in December last.
As the Bill was pending for passage in the Legislative Council, where the ruling BJP was short of majority then, the government had subsequently promulgated an ordinance in May this year to give effect to the bill.
Home Minister Araga Jnanendra piloted the Bill for the consideration of the Upper House today.
Noting that in recent times religious conversions have become widespread, he said there have been mass conversions with allurements and through force, disturbing peace and leading to mistrust among people following different religions.
The Bill does not take away anyone's religious freedom and anyone can practice the religion of his or her choice, but not under pressure and allurements, Jnanendra said.
The Minister had moved some amendments to substitute certain clauses in the Bill like- "It (legislation) shall be deemed to have come into force with effect from the 17th day of May 2022"; also that "....the ordinance is hereby repealed"- which has now been accepted with the passage of the bill.
Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council B K Hariprasad even tore the copy of the bill in protest as the pro-tem Chairman Raghunath Rao Malkapure was in the process of putting the bill to vote.
Hariprasad termed the bill as "unconstitutional" and will affect the right to religion.
Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy maintained that the bill was well within the scope of the Constitution of India.
The Bill that has been vehemently opposed by some Christian community leaders, provides for protection of right to freedom of religion and prohibition of unlawful conversion from one religion to another by misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means.
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Kerala girl raped for 2 yrs at various places, over 60 involved in crime
Pathanamthitta (Kerala), Dec 11: The Kerala police have registered at least four FIRs and arrested six persons for allegedly raping a girl at various locations when she was a minor.
The arrests were made based on the statement of an 18-year-old girl, who alleged she has been subjected to rape multiple times since the age of 16, the police said on Friday.
They said five persons were arrested in connection with two FIRs filed by the police, while another person was already in jail in connection with a separate case.
A total of four FIRs have been registered in connection with the rape incident allegedly involving several people, police said.
According to police sources, over 60 people are suspected to be involved.
The issue came to light during counselling conducted by the Child Welfare Committee, after the victim's teachers at an educational institution informed the panel about noticeable changes in her behaviour.
The committee subsequently notified the police, who initiated an investigation.
According to the police, women officers were in the process of recording the victim's statement and gathering more information.
