Fresh protests were held in Bengaluru after the Bill was introduced in the Assembly.
The controversial Anti-Conversion Bill was introduced in the Karnataka Assembly on Tuesday despite concerns raised by opposition and Christian leaders over its possible misuse to target religious minorities.
After the bill was introduced, a new protest was held in Bengaluru by a group of organizations, and it was attended by Peter Machado, the Archbishop of Bengaluru, who has made his opposition to the bill very clear.
“This group here (protesters) is not a Christian group. Christians have not organized any rally today. We had tried this in the past – we have approached the government but the government is not listening. But now when the content of the bill Has been read by others, they say it is not affecting only Christians. It is affecting larger society – question of privacy, question of marriage, question of women, dalits, Muslims. Here are 40 human rights groups . I am just a minority here. This is not a Christian rally. It is sad that the government has raised it. It seems they are humiliating more and more groups that are behind me,” Archbishop Machado, Those who were part of the protest march from Mysore Bank Circle to Freedom Park, said.
On other states passing similar bills, the Archbishop said, “Karnataka cannot take bad things from other states and put it in Karnataka. Karnataka is a developed and progressive state. We have to give this message to others.” That Karnataka is open to privacy, dignity. and human rights. The government is harming itself by trying to harm us Christians. It is affecting other groups much more than Christians. 80 percent Hindus are with us “They have gone to our schools through our system. We have no complaints against them. But there is a strong fringe group with which the chief minister and the government are comfortable.”
The Archbishop also indicated that a legal route may be explored to counter the new bill.
Women activists involved in the protests said the bill was being seen as a possible restriction on their freedom of choice.
Maanvi, a lawyer, told NDTV, “If you look at the definitions in the bill, it includes the meaning of any kind of free education, gift, any kind of employment, any kind of anything. It is the most vague , Arbitrary definition is a law. You are shifting the burden of proof on someone who alleges that he has committed a forced conversion. The Bill recognizes that every conversion is a forced conversion. It is against my right to choose, here Even in the case of marriage as it prohibits marriage done for the purpose of conversion. Or conversion for the purpose of marriage. Many feel that Karnataka’s law is tougher than similar laws in other BJP ruled states Karnataka’s law is far worse because it has a wide range of provisions.”
Another woman involved in the protest said, “I am here because as a woman, I feel such laws are taking away women’s freedom, giving license to lynching. I guess what I am What I wear, whom I marry should be my choice. If I am old enough to decide other things, I should be old enough to decide who my partner is. In this country I have been given the right to religion I don’t know why someone else might say – you didn’t make the right decision – or make the decision for me. There is no such thing as forced conversion. How are you going to validate what is forced and what is not? My word is against your word or against a group of miscreants. The idea is that I have to give notice to the district magistrate one month before my conversion, which is a violation of my right to do what I want. It’s basically Giving people time to come and scare me. In the south we used to be far more civilized, far more religiously tolerant and secular. But Nor does it seem that we are changing and becoming one, not Uttar Pradesh.”
Mamata, an activist, said, “It is against democracy. He did not ask the public or anyone. He himself made this bill. There was no discussion in the assembly.”
The state government has defended the move and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has said that the anti-conversion bill was necessary to challenge the state’s “efforts to change cultural background through seduction”.
“Initially it is coercion and greed. Then it becomes a disease and later a menace. Our society, state and nation should not allow this to happen,” the chief minister said at an event.
If the bill is passed in the Karnataka Assembly, it will still have to go through the Legislative Council where the ruling BJP does not have a majority. The party had hoped to win this majority in the recently held council elections, but fell short in the 75-member upper house.
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