Right-Wing-coined 'Love-Jihad' also figures as reason for Anti-conversion bill in K'tka
text_fields
Bengaluru: 'Love Jihad', one of the key concerns of the right-wing groups to justify enacting anti-conversion laws in other states, has also been mentioned in Karnataka Assembly while introducing the anti-Conversion Bill to restrict forceful conversion.
Karnataka Home Minister, Araga Jnanendra who introduced the Bill in the Assembly, said that Love Jihad involves marriage and the Bill has provisions to restrict marriages intended for forceful conversion.
He asserted that thus there would not be a need for standalone law for 'Love Jihad', and as the term has no definition, it could be restricted through banning conversions for marriages.
Ahead of the Winter Session of the Assembly in Belagavi, State Minister for Energy V Sunil Kumar had said that the government would bring a law banning Love Jihad along with anti-conversion law and anti-cow slaughter law. This has given space to speculations that the state government will go for separate laws against conversion and Love Jihad.
As per the Karnataka government's Bill, if a religious conversion has happened for the sake of a marriage, that marriage will be legally recognised only if the conversion was notified twice to a district magistrate 30 days before and 30 days after conversion.
Penalties of Rs 25,000 and three to five years imprisonment is proposed for violators in general categories, while three to ten years of jail and Rs 50,000 fine for people converting minors, women or people from SC/ST community.
The Bill is expected to be debated on Wednesday and might get passed in the Legislative Assembly, but BJP does not have enough strength in Legislative Council (LC). So, the party might wait till 2022 to increase its member strength in LC and get it passed there, sources told TIE.