The demand for a stricter law against religious conversion was raised in the Bihar Legislative Assembly on Thursday, the final day of the Budget Session, as several members of the ruling alliance brought the issue through a calling attention motion.
Eighteen MLAs, including Maithili Thakur, Mithilesh Tiwari, Virendra Kumar, Janak Singh, Sanjay Kumar Singh, Jivesh Kumar, Tar Kishore Prasad, and Baidyanath Prasad, called for legislation similar to laws enacted in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Gujarat.
They said those states have provisions for stringent punishment, including imprisonment ranging from one to 10 years or up to 20 years in cases involving alleged fraudulent conversion, child marriage, or inducement.
Some members claimed demographic changes in parts of Bihar warranted legislative intervention.
They alleged large-scale religious conversions in border districts and the Seemanchal region.
BJP MLA Mithilesh Tiwari said that in Buxar alone, 1,000 Dalit families had converted and argued that Bihar should adopt a law similar to Uttar Pradesh.
BJP MLA Sanjay Singh described the issue as not just religious conversion but national conversion, while Anil Singh demanded strict legislation to curb the practice.
Certain MLAs also raised questions about reservation benefits after religious conversion and referred to constitutional provisions.
Responding to the debate, Tourism and Arts and Culture Minister Arun Shankar Prasad said the Bihar government currently has no proposal to introduce such legislation. Assembly Speaker Prem Kumar later ruled that there would be no further discussion on the matter, stating that the government would review it if necessary.