The Uttar Pradesh government, headed by Yogi Adityanath, has introduced the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Amendment Bill, 2024, in the House. This proposed legislation thus would provide more stringent punishment of life imprisonment to a particular category of cases involving 'love jihad'.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has welcomed the amendments, describing them as a positive step. Samajwadi Party, on the other hand, attacked the move, terming it 'divisive' and aimed at building 'animosity' in society.
Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, who attended the Assembly session this morning, said that the new law should act as a 'deterrent' against such activities. BJP leader Mohsin Raza lent his support to the bill, stating that the enhanced legislation would go a long way in tackling the menace of illegal religious conversions, especially where persons dupe their partners by hiding their identity and then forcing them to convert.
Raza asked, "Why should offenders who deceive and manipulate young women go free? If someone marries on false pretenses that are injurious to health, wouldn't that be a penal offense?
The Samajwadi Party has, however, criticised the push for these amendments by the Adityanath government, accusing them of indulging in 'negative politics' and having the 'bias' of the BJP against a particular community. SP leader Fakhrul Hasan Chand said in a video message that UP already has laws on these issues and the BJP is simply using the amendments as a political tool while there are more pressing problems like unemployment and corruption.
Reacting to it, BJP leader Mohsin Raza criticised Opposition for viewing proposed law as conspiracy. He said strict laws are needed to stop these malpractices and feels sorry that opposition is viewing the Bill that aims at stopping discrimination of women as something discriminatory. He attributed it to the appeasement politics of the opposition towards a particular religion.
The existing law has a provision for sentences from one to ten years for offences involving an imposter marrying a person with a hidden identity and conversions for the purpose of marriage are invalid. The revised act will have a life sentence for the guilty when it is enacted. The amendment is slated for voice vote approval in the Assembly on August 2, according to reports.
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