The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Karnataka is expected to table a few of its controversial legislations, including the proposed anti-conversion bill, in the winter session of the state legislature that is set to begin in Belagavi on Monday, 13 December.
The anti-conversion bill seeks to provide stringent punishments to those found guilty of forced religious conversions in the state.
'Will Oppose the Bill Tooth & Nail': Congress
Addressing journalists on Monday, the leader of Opposition Congress, Siddaramaiah asserted that they would oppose the bill "tooth and nail" in the Karnataka Assembly.
"There is already a law to stop forceful conversion. Let the government take action in case of any forceful conversion. This law is being brought to target a particular religion. Congress will oppose it tooth and nail in the Karnataka Assembly," said Siddaramaiah, reported news agency ANI.
The bill, meanwhile, has not yet been cleared by Karnataka's law department.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday said the anti-conversion bill would come up for discussion at the Belagavi session after the state's law department studies it and submits a draft on the same.
"The law department is studying the anti-conversion laws enacted in other states. A draft would be placed before the state cabinet which will be meeting in Belagavi. If the law department submits the draft then the bill will come up for discussion in the Belagavi session of the state legislature, " he said, as per The Indian Express.
'No Need To Panic Over the Bill': CM Bommai
Speaking to reporters in Hubballi on Sunday, Bommai said the bill is being considered to prevent the "poor and vulnerable sections" from falling in the trap of conspiracies of some vested interests. He added that "religious conversions are not good for a society. Conversions would lead to problems in a family," he said, as per The Hindu.
He, however, added that there was no need to panic over the bill. Some groups have expressed concern that the bill would be used to target some communities or be misused by police or other any authorities for witch hunting. That will not happen, he said, adding that the bill would not prevent any one from following their religion.
He clarified that the bill is only to prevent religions conversions that are caused by "enticements."
Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra on Monday told reporters that the state will bring and streamline a penal clause as a provision in Article 25 of the Constitution (right to profess, practice and propagate religion). "Our government is committed to taking all religions into confidence. There is no need for anybody to live in fear," he said, according to ANI.
Attacks on Christian Community in the State on the Rise
Since the bill was proposed, Christians across the state have been strongly opposing it. The Metropolitan Archbishop of Bengaluru, Peter Machado, had earlier told The Quint that the Christian identity will come under threat if the community's religious congregations are scrutinised with malice.
In recent times, right-wing Hindu groups have attacked several Christian churches and prayer halls, alleging forced religious conversions.
More recently, on Saturday, a man was caught on CCTV camera, entering church premises in Belagavi, Karnataka with a machete and chasing Father Francis D'souza, the church-in-charge.
Just a day earlier, on Friday, right-wing activists set fire to Christian religious booklets in Karnataka's Kolar, alleging attempts at religious conversion by the Church. The activists had intercepted and questioned representatives of the Christian community as they were on a door-to-door drive to preach. Later, they snatched the booklets and immolated them.
Other BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have introduced similar laws.
Apart from the anti-conversion bill, the state is also expected to revoke the laws related to the contentious farm legislations, which have since been repealed in Parliament.
The Indian Express reported that the Opposition is also expected to pull up the government in the Assembly over certain corruption allegations related to state projects. The cases related to the cryptocurrency scam linked to the alleged hacker Srikrishna Ramesh is also likely to be brought up in the state assembly.
(With inputs from ANI, The Indian Express, and The Hindu.)