Centre asks NCM to examine state laws on religious conversion

New Delhi, Sep 26 (UNI) The Centre has asked the National Commission for Minorities to examine all the legislations on religious conversions passed by states.

The Commission will study the various laws enacted in states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh to examine as to what extent they are infringing on the rights of minorities, Secretary Minority Affairs M N Prasad told UNI.

Mr Prasad said the NCM, after studing the various state legislations, will send its recommendations to the Centre.

The issue of state legislations on religious conversions became controversial again when the Gujarat Assembly recently passed a Bill amending its anti-conversion law--the Freedom of Religion Act 2003--which says that Jainism and Buddhism shall be taken as denominations of Hindu.

The NCM has already written to the Centre in this connection. It pointed out that the Clause 2(c) of NCM Act of 1992 empowers the Central Government to notify a minority for purposes of the Act, in the light of which the Union Ministry of Welfare notified on October 23, 1993 Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians(Parsis) as minority communities.

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