Private member Bill on forced conversions introduced in Lok Sabha

NEW DELHI: A bill to ban forced conversions was among the 37 private members' bills introduced in the Lok Sabha today.

Some of the other bills introduced included the ones on compulsory military training, promotion of two child norm and amending the Code of Civil Procedure to speed up trials.

Shiv Sena member Sadashiv Lokhande introduced the Prohibition on Religious Conversion (By inducement or force) Bill, 2015.

The bill says the law will not apply on people who voluntarily converts to another religion or reconverts to his or her original religion.

It proposes a jail term of upto 10 years for those indulging in forced conversions and a fine of Rs one lakh.

There is also a provision of punishment for heads of institutions and organisations which indulge in forced conversions.

Amid uproar over VHP's ' ghar wapsi' programme, the government in the last sssion had said it was open to bringing a bill against forced conversions.

It was up to the political parties, social organizations and religious institutions in the country to evolve a consensus on the issue of forced conversion which could pave the way for an anti-conversion bill in Parliament, government had said.

The House later took up for consideration another private members' bill -- Supporting the Senior Citizens (Provision of Geriatric and Dementia Care) Bill 2014.

Participating in the debate, BJP MP P P Choudhary said that it was the moral right of the Parliament to work for the cause of elderly citizens of the country.

Making a strong pitch for the bill, another BJP MP Jagdambika Pal said there was report on dementia in 2010 and there was a no need to come up with an Action Taken Report (ATR) in this regard. He added that there was a need to build capacity in the health sector to meet this problem.