Bihar govt to review anti-conversion laws of other states, implement it if required: Speaker

Patna, Feb 27 (PTI) Bihar Assembly Speaker Prem Kumar on Friday said that the state government would review anti-conversion laws of other states that prohibit forced religious conversion and inter-faith marriage and "if required, would implement it in the state as well".

Kumar made the announcement in the assembly during a debate on the calling attention motion moved by 18 ruling party MLAs.

"The Bihar government will certainly review anti-conversion laws of other states that prohibit forced religious conversion and forced inter-faith marriage and if required, the same law will be implemented in this state as well," the Speaker said.

Raising the issue in the House, BJP MLA Birendra Kumar said, "Several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Gujarat, have already passed unlawful religious conversion Bills and enacted those." The law talks about stricter punishment if a person's life and wealth are put under threat for religious conversion, or if marriage or promise of it is used for the religious conversion, he said.

"It's a fact that interfaith marriages are being used as a medium for religious conversion in several districts of Bihar. In such cases, girls between 10 and 20 years of age are often targeted, and they are lured into marriage in the name of love.

"An abnormal increase in Muslim population has been observed in several districts due to religious conversion. Forced interfaith marriages are taking place in almost every district of Bihar, especially those in the Seemanchal region. Poor and weaker sections of society, particularly those belonging to SC, ST, EBC and OBC categories, are being targeted," the MLA claimed.

The number of churches has also increased substantially over the years, with around 5,000 operational across the state at present, he added.

"The national growth rate of the Christian community is 15.52 per cent, whereas in Bihar it's 143.23. Therefore, the Bihar government must make law to check conversion and forced marriages as implemented in 11 states," he said.

Echoing a similar view, another BJP MLA, Mithilesh Tiwary, said, "Whoever, with the intent to convert, puts any person in fear of his life or property, assaults or uses force or marries or promises to marry or induces or conspires for the same, or traffics a minor, a woman or a person by enticing them or otherwise selling them, or abets, attempts or conspires in this behalf, must be punished with rigorous imprisonment. Bihar needs this law as forced religious conversion is taking place in several districts in the state." Reacting to this, the Speaker said, "The government is concerned over the issue raised by the MLAs... Appropriate steps will be taken by the government to handle the situation." PTI PKD ACD