Bengaluru: The Karnataka cabinet has decided to repeal the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Act, popularly known as the anti-conversion law, brought in by the previous BJP government in 2021.
The government will introduce a bill in this regard in the upcoming legislature session, which begins July 3. “With this, the state government will restore the freedom given to people by the Constitution to profess the religion they wish, which was taken away by the BJP government under the guise of stopping forceful conversions,” state law and parliamentary affairs minister H K Patil said.
BJP reacted sharply to the Congress government’s decision and dubbed the party as the “new Muslim League”.
BJP national general secretary C T Ravi called Congress the new Muslim League and said it would go to any extent to hurt Hindus. The previous BJP government, led by Basavaraj Bommai, had enacted the law through an ordinance in 2021, claiming forcible conversions had become rampant in the state and needed to be curbed.
The legislation enacted by the previous BJP government proposed imprisonment of three to five years with a fine of Rs 25,000, while for violations of provisions with respect to minors, women, and SC/ST, offenders would face imprisonment of three to 10 years.