Shimla :  Mass Conversion law passed in Himachal Pradesh, if at least two people will change religion together then will be punished

Shimla :  Introducing the Bill in the Vidhan Sabha, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said that the 2019 Act does not contain any provision to prevent mass conversions and hence a provision is being made to this effect. The BJP has been a vocal supporter of anti-conversion laws. Himachal Pradesh has enacted a law to ban mass conversions. After passing the bill in the state assembly, now there will be a provision of maximum ten years imprisonment for any kind of mass conversion. Like other BJP-ruled states, Himachal Pradesh has also passed the bill on Saturday. Assembly elections are due in the hill state later this year. The Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was passed unanimously by voice vote.

The Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2022 describes mass conversion as the conversion of two or more people at the same time, and increases the punishment for forced conversion from seven years to a maximum of 10 years. proposes to do. The Jai Ram Thakur-led government introduced this bill in the assembly. It is a more stringent version of the Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2019, which came into force barely 18 months ago. The 2019 Act was notified on December 21, 2020, 15 months after it was passed in the state assembly. The 2019 edition, in turn, replaced the 2006 law, which prescribed a lower penalty.

Introducing the bill in the Vidhan Sabha on Friday, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said that the 2019 Act does not have a provision to prevent mass conversions and hence a provision is being made to this effect. The BJP has been a vocal supporter of anti-conversion laws and several party-ruled states have introduced and passed similar anti-conversion laws. However, many organizations have been accusing the saffron party of such a law.