Goa Government Halts Introduction of Anti-Conversion Bill Following Internal Pushback

The Goa government has decided not to introduce the Goa Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill during the current three day monsoon session of the state legislative assembly. The decision follows a meeting between Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and several legislators, including members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and an independent MLA who supports the government, who opposed the legislation. BJP MLA Michael Lobo stated that the government acted in haste by having the bill approved by the cabinet and emphasized the need to study the bill and respect all religious beliefs. Independent MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco described the bill as being in bad taste and argued that there is no data or evidence of widespread religious conversions occurring in the peaceful state.

The draft bill, which was cleared by the cabinet last week, proposed stringent penalties for conversions carried out through force, coercion, undue influence, allurement, fraudulent means, or marriage. Proposed punishments included imprisonment of up to 14 years, particularly for the conversion of minors, women, or members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The legislation would have required individuals intending to change their religion to submit a declaration to the district magistrate at least 60 days in advance. It also proposed that marriages solemnized solely for the purpose of unlawful conversion be declared void.

Opposition to the bill has come from civil society and religious organizations. The Catholic Church and the Catholic Association of Goa warned that the law would threaten communal harmony. The Council of Social Justice and Peace stated that the legislation risks replacing mutual trust with suspicion and urged the state not to import divisive laws from other BJP governed states. Chief Minister Sawant had previously advocated for the law by citing the legislation in Uttar Pradesh and the concept of love jihad, a term used by right wing groups to describe an alleged conspiracy by Muslim men to woo Hindu women, though the term is not officially recognized by the Union government or the courts.