Ordinance against religious conversion promulgated to implement hidden agenda of BJP, say political activists

MANGALURU Former Mangaluru City South MLA and former Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) officia

Former Mangaluru City South MLA and former Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) official J.R. Lobo said here on Thursday that the State government appears to have promulgated the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Ordinance, 2022 to target certain communities and service-oriented institutes and organisations.

Addressing a joint press conference with the activists of the Congress, the Janata Dal (Secular), and the Communist Party of India (Marxists), he said that the government has promulgated the ordinance in a hurry without debating the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021 properly in both the Houses of Legislature.

“Why the hurry to promulgate an ordinance when both the Houses of the Legislature are functioning,” he asked.

Mr. Lobo said that the government should withdraw the ordinance and re-introduce the Bill after holding consultations with the people, elected representatives, and legal experts by taking their suggestions and recommendations into consideration.

Taking objections to the Section 4, the Section 7, and the Section 12 in the Ordinance, he said that these three particular sections need to be revised to prevent likely “harassment” of certain communities and service-oriented institutes and organisations.

Section 4 mentions: “...Any converted person, his parents, brother, sister or any other person who is related to him by blood, marriage or adoption or in any form associated or colleague may lodge a complaint of such conversion...” while Section 7 states that the every offence committed under the Ordinance “shall be cognizable and non-bailable.”

He said that the Section 4 can be misused by any person or any organisation to target institutions and communities without any valid reason and the “offence” is non-bailable.