Mangaluru: MLC Ivan D’Souza said that he will urge the govt to repeal the anti-conversion law and withdraw all 46 cases registered under it during the upcoming Belagavi session. He told reporters here on Saturday that the Congress had promised in its election manifesto to repeal the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Act, 2022, which was introduced by the previous BJP govt.“With the necessary majority in the legislative council, the govt should keep its election pledge and repeal the act during the upcoming session. The act created legal complications, particularly for interfaith couples, and violated fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution,” the MLC said.Every citizen in India has the right to freely profess, practice, and propagate religion and to marry a person of their choice, he said referring to the Articles 25 and 21 of the Constitution. Around 46 cases had been registered in the state since the act came into force, he said, adding that there is a demand to withdraw all those cases.Stating that forceful religious conversion is a crime, the MLC said that the legal provision against it existed even before the act was enacted. Further, the MLC said that the state govt should ensure reservation for Christian community in education and employment based on the population data. This issue will be raised during the upcoming session of the Karnataka legislative council to secure appropriate measures for the Christian community’s social and educational opportunities, he said.“Nearly 74% of the Christians belonged to socially disadvantaged and unorganised sections and 60% of students were unemployed. Youth in the community are forced to seek jobs abroad. Hence, the state govt should implement reservation adopting the reservation models of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana or Kerala,” said D’Souza.
