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Governor Nawal Kishore Sharma in his message, read out in the assembly by Speaker Ashok Bhatt, while returning the Bill said he found it to be violative of the Article 25 (A) of the Constitution.
Minister of State for Home Amit Shah sought the permission of the House to withdraw the Bill.
Raising a point of order, Leader of Opposition Shaktisinh Gohil said a Bill cannot be withdrawn at this stage. However, the Speaker rejected his point of order and said that under Rule 148 of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly a Bill can be withdrawn at any stage.
The motion to withdraw the Bill was put to vote and it was passed unanimously by a voice vote.
The Bill proposed to allow conversions amongst followers of different sects of the same faith as well as between Hindus, Buddhists and Jains.
The government would not have had to intervene if the Bill had been passed in case of conversions between followers of the same religion but different sects eg. Shia to Sunni among Muslims or Protestant to Catholic among Christians.
Similarly, conversion between Hindus, Buddhists and Jains would have been acceptable as the Bill had clubbed Buddhism and Jainsim as part of Hinduism. A person would not have had to seek the permission of the authorities to convert from one sect to another if the Bill had been passed.
The Freedom of Religion Act which was enacted in 2003 makes it mandatory for a person to take permission from the authorities before converting to another religion.
Hindus need to know all humans are Hindus.It comes back to the philosophical problem of defining who a Hindu is?! Others think they are different. It is their problem and leave it at that.SaratchandranAustralia
Dear Sarat,Inaction is not a choice. Speak up, be heard and make a difference, or be prepared to be consigned to the dustbin of history.
Mr. Naval Kishore Sharma:Shame on you. You may have brahmin last name,but your behaviour, in pandering to Sonia's whims, makes you no more than a dog.But may be you're eyeing the presidential seat one day. After all, Mrs. Patil was kicked upstairs from being the Rajasthan governor for stopping a similar bill in Rajasthan!!May be some educated, enlightened, and secular citizen can explain to me why does a secular nation need to talk about minorities only in religious terms, subsidize Haj travel, give special money to recruit Muslims and Christians?We wouldn't need the bill if our leaders were loyal to India....but instead they want to divide the country in as many pieces as possible to destroy the Hindus and Hindu culture.The communists thought of a similar plan long ago, called the Adhikari thesis in 1946, the Muslim League was successful in partitioning the country, and the Congress kept the Hindus divided by playing the caste card, and now Sonia wants to fulfil her religious mission as ordained by her spiritual guide.
Why should state interfere in matters of religion, let it be out of the perview of public. There should be no state religion, and people should be freely allowed to choose what faith they want.
I fully and, more importantly, agree 100% with comments made by readers here. I believe, as a good statesman, We ALL should work together to find a solution for the BEST future; I am again 100% sure that with YOU ALL readers are the MOST brainy guys in this world,So we CAN DO IT. TRUST ME: Rather, LET US TRUST US. Once we arrive at a solution, we will pass that to Gujarat. Govt. for purview. BTW, whatever, you ALL decide is good for me as I can make out from your highly educated comments. I am NOT only convinced but also feel that THERE is NO solution for this problem without YOUR educated inputs. Please pass on your solutions, and I will pas it to the Govt. Bye for now…
Such a bill is not acceptable to Sonia who wants everybody to convert to catholic.
vinayak - that sort of all encompassing xenophobia raises serious doubts about your ability as an adult to view analyze and conclude things in a rational manner. Please use your head - there is no tax on it.
Oh why withdraw such a bold and daring bill? Why Baniyas and Budhists want to keep having protection from brave Hindu soldiers, Why they want to keep the Hindu names, and dress like Hindus,prays like Hindus, worship the same Godess Sarasawati, and have faith in OMKARA as Hindus BUT do not want to be called Hindu?
If conversion is for mental peace or spirituality, then one can understand it. The conversion is outsourced to India with Western funds and christian college students are doing conversion saying that they are doing gospel work; In the West the christians are going back to the Pagan religions existed before the creation of christianity by King constantine in AD 325. There were no christians for the first 300 years and what we hear about Christianity and Jesus were all made up stories by the writer appointed by King Constantine. Now in places like Chennai conversion of the poor is being done by offering Chicken Biriyani in the church. The conversion does not remove the caste system, but it increases the tension between different christian groups. Two christians were killed and five injured in Police firing at Eraiyur, in Tamil Nadu after two sects of Christians started fighting.each other on Sunday, March 9, 2008. http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/004200803091970.htm
Enacting the Act by Gujrat Government was a political game and motive to get Hindu votes includung Buddhists and Jains. Actually, according to Article 25(A), freedom of religion is given to people of India and therefore anybody has a freedom of converting any religion and adopt any religion. This is a fundamental right according to Part III of our Constitution. What Gujarat Govt. was trying to enact was in fact the violation of this fundamental Human Right. Freedom of religion is also given to any human being in Universal Declaration of Human Rigts ratified by Indian Government. Governor Sharma's rejection to approve the Act is appreciated.
A little information to Id:Sushil Kahn:-Be sure these people,missionaries are highly trained manuplators and won't give a cent free to anybody.They promise a lot but give in meagre instalmentswith a policy not to let die and not to let live either.They will keep hanging giving many hopes and make sure the converts are really praying through their system and that they are regular in church services.Cunningly they will ask them to do petty jobs in garden,in kitchen,cut wood,sweeping and so on in the name of God's service.Perhaps I could see conversion with different view only if the missionaries could/had done some real good to these poor people but no they exploit them from all sides and they are convinced that the person is following as per their instructions seriously the major interest is withdrawn.Then comes bigger amounts in question but only if that converts influences few others to convert.This becomes a chain work.Moreover all these people or made to sign debt/loan papers many a times they are blank and the missioanries can write what ever they wish.I mean that is worst part of their anti-humanity activity.Just look at whole of South America,most of Africa and countries like Phillipines in Asia they are poorest of the poor who were forced or allured to convert through many tricks.These missionaries won't give free-money as thought by many.
This is just a smoke screen..The Gujarat Government is violating the Constitutional rights of its citizens..by not withdrawing the original draconian Freedom of Religion Act 2003 to
Politicians are the ones who are playing all these games to garner votes etc. People should be able to practice any religion they want to. If someone does not like the religion that he is practising then in this free country people should force others to accept what they do not want. Come on this is not the stone age where people can force dumb ideas on people. Only the Real and true changes can convince people.
I have a feeling that People are so concerned about converting to some religion. Aren't people supposed to be whatever religion they want to. Why should someone try someone else's religion if they don't want to. Who is afraid that they are going to lose their people, Christians, Muslims , Hindus , Buddists.
Agreed, but if conversions provide some explicit and implicit benefits then it will upset people belonging to one set of religion and it is what currently happening in India
While I agree that benefits do cause problems but some one should help the poor so that they can compete with others. Well the rich are getting too rich and this is what causes revolutions. Government should not be pleasing any particular people rather should work of all kinds of people. When people are ignored and denied the ability to compete then some of these things happen.
The present situation of conversions cannot be ignored and there has to be a strict Law even if it may need amendments in the costitution.Christianity's onslaught with modern weapons like money,allurement,supperession,exploiting poor ignorants and susceptibles through brain-wash is wide spread in our country.Freedomof religion is okey but as it was in this Bill the indivisual interested in conversion must take permission,go under sanity test,tell his intention and reason and then after varification he/she can be registered.In case of those who enjoy special rights like SC/ST etc must be deprived of those benefits.Apart from the facts that missionaries in India have become most perilous to Hindu Dharma and Indian culture but they are robbing the freedom of the people still living natural-religion and destroy their colourful way of life.Its these colourful cultures and people who jointly make our India beautiful vase.GOI must take harsh steps to eradicate this epidemy failing that the people (Hindus)will have to take law in own hands to defend and protect Dharma.The consequences are well known.This Bill shouldn't have been withdrawn.
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