[Sanya to edit] Karnataka Govt to introduce anti-conversion bill- Converts likely to lose govt benefits and quota

“Hinduism, Christianity, Islam and Sikhism are all religions recognised by the Constitution. Worship and religious practices of people belonging to any religion will not be hindered. The bill is only to prevent religious conversions by inducements. There is no need for people to worry,” the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Chief Minister of Karnataka, Basavaraj Bommai said on Sunday. The Minister was trying to assuage concerns over the bill against religious conversion proposed by his government.

The BJP led state government is set to introduce a law that is envisaged as an ‘anti-conversion law’. People from backward communities and scheduled castes might lose benefits of the government's welfare schemes and reservation in jobs and education if they convert to Christianity or Isla, if the bill comes into force in Karnataka.

`Currently citizens belonging to SC/ST categories get the government mandated benefits even after converting to any other religion. However, that might change after the bill comes into force.

According to architects of the bill, it is largely modelled on the Unlawful Religious Conversion Act enacted by the UP government last year. The law prescribes stringent causes like 10 years imprisonment for people ‘coercing’ conversion.
To this, Peter Machado, Archbishop of Bangalore has asked “if food is distributed to the masses on Christmas and there happens to be any Hindu in the group, will it be construed as luring the person into Christianity? Or, if a child carries home a school calendar with the picture of Jesus on it, will it be grounds for implication of conversion?”
Chief Minister Bommai has further stated that religious conversion is ‘not good for society.’ He explained, “The poor and vulnerable should not fall for it. Conversions lead to problems within families and hence this bill is being considered.”

On Monday, Bommai said that the cabinet will approve the bill after the law department completes its scrutiny.

Acording to the Supreme, reiterated by High Court including the Madras High Court, religious conversion does not change the caste of a person.