UP government approves draft ordinance against religious conversion for marriage
Lucknow : The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday approved a draft of an ordinance to deal with the cases of religious conversions for the sake of marriage. The violator will be awarded a jail term of up to 10 years via the ordinance.
An official spokesperson informed that the approval came after a cabinet meeting that was chaired by CM Yogi Adityanath.
Recently, three BJP-ruled states - Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh - had approved the law to counter alleged attempts of converting Hindu girls to Islam for the sake of marriage.
"The way in which religious conversions are done using deceit, lies, force and dishonesty is heart-wrenching, and it was necessary to have a law in this regard,” Cabinet minister and UP government spokesperson Sidharth Nath Singh said.
Under the new law, the punishment is of Rs 15,000 fine and a jail term of up to one to five years. In case, the girl is a minor or belongs to Scheduled cast or a Scheduled tribe, then the fine is Rs 25000 and a jail term of up to 10 years.
“In the case of mass conversions, the punishment is from three years to 10 years and a fine of Rs 50,000 on the organisations which indulge in it," the minister told reporters.
Singh said if anyone wants to change religion after marriage, then he or she can do so. But the district magistrate has to be informed two months in advance in a prescribed form, and the person can convert once permission is granted.
He claimed that this will resolve law and order problems.