The Rajasthan Assembly on Tuesday passed the Rajasthan Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill amid heated uproar and protests from the opposition. While the ruling BJP hailed the legislation as necessary to curb forced conversions, the Congress members refrained from participating in the debate and continued raising slogans inside the House.

Minister of State for Home, Jawahar Singh Bedham, while responding to the debate, emphasized that the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion but does not allow conversion by force or inducement. He stated that India’s cultural ethos is rooted in Sarvadharma Sambhava (equal respect for all religions).

According to the minister, the bill was required to check cases of “fraudulent marriage” and “love jihad,” and similar laws have already been enacted in several states. He noted that Rajasthan had first introduced such legislation in 2008 and has now reintroduced it to address the growing incidents of religious conversion.

The bill carries stringent provisions, including demolition of properties belonging to institutions involved in illegal conversions, seizure of buildings where mass conversions occur, and voiding of marriages carried out under deceit or with the intent of conversion. Forced religious conversion may attract life imprisonment under the law, although returning to one’s ancestral religion will not be considered conversion.

Meanwhile, the opposition Congress accused the government of spying on its members by installing additional cameras on opposition benches. Leader of the Opposition, Tikram Julie, alleged that cameras were being used to monitor and record private conversations. “We are being targeted and our privacy is being violated,” he said.

However, the BJP’s chief whip dismissed the allegations, stating that the Assembly is a public place and not a private room. The uproar over the issue continued throughout the day, with no formal clarification from the Speaker.