Lucknow: Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh speaking at an event in Lucknow on Tuesday said that luring someone forcefully into religion is a sin.
“We believe that anyone who is following any religion has full freedom to do that, but trying to convert someone through fear or lure is the biggest sin,” Singh said.
“Many foreign powers are trying to break our country. They do not want a stable government in India, because they can see our future – the country is not only on its way to becoming a global superpower but also a universal master,” said Singh.
“The main thing about becoming a universal master,” said Singh, “is that you don’t feel scared. There are many superpowers in the world who instill fear in people, but India wants to be a teacher along with a superpower because you don’t feel scared when you are with your master.”
The issue was at the center during the Jharkhand Assembly elections last year. The state government enacted a law in 2017 which provides for approval by a district official for conversion and prescribes a jail term of three years and a fine of Rs 50,000 for those found guilty of religious conversion through coercion or allurement.
Ten states have so far made laws to check forcible conversion. The Uttar Pradesh Law Commission in November last year submitted a report to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath proposing a new law to check forcible religious conversions in the state on the lines of Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Odisha, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.