Rajasthan Governor yet to take stand on Anti-Conversion Bill

Jaipur, June 15 (UNI) Controversy over the Rajasthan Anti-Conversion Bill continues to brew with speculation rife that Governor Pratibha Patil may send the Bill directly to the President.

However, reliable sources told UNI that Mrs Patil is right now in Mount Abu and is yet to take any decision over the Bill. She is expected to return here next week and may consult legal experts before taking a final stand on the fate of the Bill.

Governor Patil and the government have been at loggerheads over the Dharma Swantantra Bill, 2006, ever since she returned it to the government saying it required the President's intervention as it may impinge on the Right to Freedom of Religion of a citizen.

The government, on the other hand, decided to resend the Bill to Mrs Patil earlier this week, saying they have answered all her queries pointwise and hoped she would give her assent.

The Bill recommends five years imprisonment for those found guilty of forcible conversions. It also gives the state the right to jail, even before a trial, any person accused of forcing a person to change his religion. The proposed law makes unlawful conversions a non-bailable crime that could lead to at least two years imprisonment. The law is applicable only in case of conversion from original religion, giving rise to speculation that it is only meant to stop conversions from Hinduism.

Many social organisation and civil and human rights group such as PUCL, Samagra Sewa Sangha, Rajasthan Christian Fellowship, Jamait-i-Islami (Hind), Buddhist Society of India and others said in a press release that the state government has openly flouted the provisions of the Constitution by ignoring the Governor's brief on the Bill.

The groups have decided to hold awareness campaigns on the issue in all divisional headquarters in the state and are also planning to meet President APJ Abdul Kalam.

The Opposition Congress is opposing the Bill vehemently and says the Bill is against spirit of Article 25(1) and 19 (1) of the Constitution.

The Opposition allege the BJP government passed the Bill hurriedly on April 7, 2006, on the last day of the Budget session to avoid any discussion and debate on the Bill.

The state government had sent the Bill to the Governor on April 19 and the Governor had returned the Bill on May 15, while reserving it for the President's consideration.

UNI RRT RP DS1630