Mohan Yadav announced the government will have capital punishment for those who undertake religious conversion of girls in the Freedom of Religion Act.
The chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, Mohan Yadav, on Saturday, revealed that his administration would bring back the death sentence for religious conversion of girls on the lines of the punishment of rape of minor girls. During a programme attended in Bhopal to commemorate International Women’s Day, Yadav made this announcement.
The government is extremely tough against rapists of innocent daughters. There has been a provision for the death penalty for this. Apart from this, there will also be a provision for capital punishment under the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act for religious conversion,” said Mohan Yadav.
He added that the state government would not leave behind those responsible for illegal conversions. The government has decided that it will treat such heinous practices and misdeeds strictly,” Yadav further said. The chief minister later posted on X (formerly Twitter), stating that the Madhya Pradesh government is committed to the safety and self-respect of “daughters.”
“After (provision for) death penalty for rapists of (our) daughters, now provision for capital punishment will also be made in Madhya Pradesh for daughter-converter (girls),” he said. At the event of Women’s Day in Bhopal, the chief minister also digitally credited ₹1,552.73 crore into accounts of over 1.27 crore beneficiaries of ‘Ladli Behna Yojana’, a scheme of monthly financial assistance to women.
He also credited a grant of ₹55.95 crore into accounts of over 26 lakh eligible beneficiaries under the LPG Cylinder Refill Scheme, under which ₹450 is subsidized per cylinder every month. Congress leader Arif Masood has expressed concerns regarding Yadav’s statement, asking him to first define what he means by forced conversion. He also pointed out the government’s failure in dealing with missing girls’ cases in Bhopal.
“First, the chief minister must define what forced conversion is. And there are still missing girls in Bhopal. Just the other day, a girl from Itkhedi went missing, and her family has been suffering for three days. The CM speaks of taking stern action, but he has not yet found her or the accused. If he acts in such cases, we will appreciate the decision, but otherwise, these are mere announcements,” Masood said to ANI.
