Patna, February 27 Bihar Assembly Speaker Prem Kumar on Friday said that the state government would review anti-conversion laws of other states that prohibit forced religious conversion and inter-faith marriage, and "if required, would implement them in the state as well".
Kumar made the announcement in the assembly during a debate on a motion to draw attention to the matter, moved by 18 MLAs from the ruling party.
"The Bihar government will certainly review the anti-conversion laws of other states that prohibit forced religious conversion and forced inter-faith marriage, and if required, the same law will be implemented in this state as well," the Speaker said.
Raising the issue in the House, BJP MLA Birendra Kumar said, "Several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Gujarat, have already passed laws prohibiting unlawful religious conversion and have enacted them."
He explained that the law provides for stricter punishment if a person's life or property is threatened for religious conversion, or if marriage or the promise of marriage is used for this purpose.
"It is a fact that inter-faith marriages are being used as a means for religious conversion in several districts of Bihar. In such cases, girls aged between 10 and 20 are often targeted, and they are lured into marriage under the guise of love."
"There has been a significant increase in the Muslim population in several districts due to religious conversion. Forced inter-faith marriages are taking place in almost every district of Bihar, especially in the Seemanchal region. Poor and vulnerable sections of society, particularly those belonging to the SC, ST, EBC, and OBC categories, are being targeted," the MLA claimed.
He also added that the number of churches has also increased substantially, with around 5,000 currently operational across the state.
"The national growth rate of the Christian community is 15.52 per cent, whereas in Bihar it is 143.23. Therefore, the Bihar government must enact laws to check conversion and forced marriages, as implemented in 11 other states," he said.
Echoing a similar view, another BJP MLA, Mithilesh Tiwary, said, "Whoever, with the intent to convert, puts any person in fear of his life or property, assaults or uses force, or marries or promises to marry, or induces or conspires for the same, or traffics a minor, a woman, or a person by enticing them or otherwise selling them, or abets, attempts, or conspires in this behalf, must be punished with rigorous imprisonment. Bihar needs this law, as forced religious conversion is taking place in several districts in the state."
Reacting to this, the Speaker said, "The government is concerned about the issue raised by the MLAs... The government will take appropriate steps to address the situation."