JD(U) opposes anti-conversion bill in J'khand

NEW DELHI: Fissures between the BJP and one of its key allies, the JD(U), came to the fore yet again with the latter making it clear that it’ll oppose any move by the Arjun Munda government in Jharkhand to introduce a bill banning religious conversions.

“We’ve been informed that the BJP-led government in Jharkhand is preparing to bring a legislation seeking to ban religious conversion. The JD(U), which is a coalition partner in the state, has not been consulted on the issue.

The party would oppose any such legislation,” party president Sharad Yadav told newspersons here at the conclusion of the two-day national executive meeting of his party.

The issue, he said, had been discussed threadbare during the course of the meeting, and there was unanimity among delegates about the need to resist the move.

“The decision to oppose the ‘ban religious conversion’ proposal in Jharkhand has been taken unanimously by the national executive of the JD(U),” he said, adding that the party was adopting a principled stand on the issue.

The JD(U)’s decision is certain to put a spanner in the Sangh Parivar’s plans to ensure a blanket ban on conversions, at least in the states ruled by the BJP. More importantly, it is another manifestation of the growing differences between the BJP and one of its oldest and more dependable partners, the JD(U).

Under its new president, Sharad Yadav, the JD(U) has of late been assiduously trying to toe an independent line on crucial issues. The tension in the ties between the two NDA partners first showed up on the UPA government’s proposal to bring the OBCs under the quota net in higher educational institutions.

While the BJP favoured bringing minority-run institutions under its ambit, the JD(U) opposed it. The two sides also differed in the nature of the punishment to be taken against 11 MPs who were caught in the cash-for-questions sting operation.

Given the arithmetic in the Jharkhand assembly, the saffron outfit cannot hope to pass the legislation through the state assembly without its alliance partner’s backing. In the 81-member assembly, the Arjun Munda government has the backing of 43 MLAs (including a nominated member).

Should the 6-member JD(U) contingent carry out its threat of opposing the bill, the proposal is certain to be rejected — a situation that the BJP would like to avoid. The BJP has 30 MLAs in the Jharkhand assembly. The NCP, Jharkhand Party (one each), AJSU (two) and two independents make up the alliance’s strength of 43.

Elaborating on his party’s stand on the subject, Mr Yadav told reporters that every citizen of the country was free to follow the faith of his wish and that he had Fundamental Right to change his religion.

“This has been the tradition of India,” Mr Yadav said, adding that even during the monarchical system, there was no ban on such conversions in India. “In a democratic system, it is totally illegal to ban religious conversions,’’ he argued.

When asked why his party did not oppose the move when the BJP-ruled states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh sought to implement it, Mr Yadav countered by replying that the JD(U) had no political base in these states.