'Conversions done by scaring them is wrong': Arvind Kejriwal bats for law against religious conversion

New Delhi, Jan 31: In a very surprising move, Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Arvind Kejriwal batted for an anti-forced-conversion law, saying that a law should be made against religious conversion but nobody should be wrongly harassed.

 

 

"Religion is a private matter. Everybody has the right to worship a God. A law should be made against religious conversions, but nobody should be wrongly harassed through this. Conversions done by scaring them is wrong," Kejriwal said in Punjab's Jalandhar.

 

Kejriwal said that forcing anyone to convert was wrong and whatever steps need to be taken to stop this should be taken. When asked about whether a law should be made to stop such conversions in the country, he said, "Yes, such a law should come into force. But the law should not be used to harass anybody."

 

 

Several BJP-ruled states, including Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh, have brought in laws to regulate forcible religious conversion, in the last few years. Many other BJP-ruled states, including Haryana and Assam, are also considering bringing a similar law to prevent such conversions.

 

 

Last year, the Central government, while replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, had said that it has no plans to enact a central anti-conversion law to curb inter-faith marriages in the country, adding that such laws are concerns of the state governments. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) stated the prevention, detection, registration, investigation and prosecution of offenses related to religious conversions are primarily the concerns of the state governments.

 

Punjab will go to the polls in a single phase on February 20 and the counting of votes will be done on March 10.

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