Chhattisgarh Cabinet clears new anti-conversion draft bill

The Chhattisgarh government has approved the draft of the Freedom of Religion Bill, 2026. The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting held in Raipur on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai. The proposed legislation aims to effectively curb religious conversions carried out through force, inducement, fraudulent means, undue influence or misrepresentation while converting from one religion to another in the state. The Bill will be introduced during the ongoing Budget Session of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly.
The draft made after studying laws in nine states, suggests to follow a standard procedure for religious conversion, that includes prior intimation to the district administration, 60 days before taking up another religion. The proposal is aimed at preventing disturbances in sensitive pockets, particularly tribal districts like Bastar, Raigarh Jashpur where conversion-related tensions have surfaced in recent years, while a large part of Surguja has already undergone rampant conversions. If a conversion is carried out outside the said rule, it will be deemed invalid, officials said. Forced, fraudulent or allurement-driven conversions will attract strict action.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Wednesday welcomed the Chhattisgarh government's decision to approve an anti-conversion law and also supported a move to bar non-Hindus from entering temples managed by the Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee. VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal thanked the Chhattisgarh government for clearing the legislation and expressed hope that the law would provide strict punishment for the perpetrators.  "Due to the increasing incidents of religious conversion and 'love jihad', governments have decided to enact constitutionally valid laws in their respective state legislatures to prevent such conversions...the number of states (including Chhattisgarh) will now exceed 12, where strict punishment will be given against religious conversion and 'love jihad'," he said. He added that the proposed legislation would help protect Hindus in the state from illegal activities of "conversion gangs" attempting to convert them and trap them in "love jihad".