Gujarat govt to table 'love jihad' bill before state assembly today

The Gujarat government is set to table the 'love jihad' bill in the state assembly on Thursday. The bill seeks to punish those who forcefully convert women on the pretext of marriage.

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Gujarat government will on Thursday table a bill that seeks to amend the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003 to bring more stringent punishment against forced religious conversions through marriage. "We're going to make amendments to Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003. Today, we're going to present a law before the state assembly, that will stop people from luring Hindu girls into marriage with the intention of religious conversion," Gujarat Home Minister Pradipsinh Jadeja said on Thursday. The Religious Freedom Act was first brought in Gujarat in 2003. With the Dharma Swatantrya (Religious Freedom) Bill, 2021, the Gujarat government aims to expand the scope of the law and include “conversion by marriage” in its purview.