After much controversy and debate, the Vasundhara Raje Government has reintroduced the Freedom of Religion Bill in the Assembly, which is likely to come up for discussion on Friday. The new Bill gives the Government the power to cancel registration of societies and trusts, where it is found that the “funds of the body have been used, or are being used or are contemplated to be used for conversion; or the body is involved in securing conversion.”

The Raje Government had first introduced the Rajasthan Dharm Swatantrya Bill in 2006, which was returned unsigned by the then Governor of Rajasthan, Pratibha Patil, as she found it affecting the Fundamental Rights of a person. The Cabinet again sent the Bill to the Governor without making any amendments. The Governor, after holding it back for almost a year, forwarded it to President APJ Abdul Kalam in June 2007.

The 2006 Bill was introduced in the Assembly after Hindu groups began opposing a Christian organisation — Emmanuel Mission — in Kota. The Raje Government had then claimed that the Bill had been introduced to stop religious conversion by means of force, allurement or pressure.

Even as the fate of the 2006 Bill remains undecided, the Raje Government has now introduced the ‘Rajasthan Dharm Swatantrya Bill 2008’ with minor amendments. The most noticeable change in the new Bill is that it is mandatory for a person intending to convert to give a 30-day notice to District Magistrate.

... contd.