Dec 28, Saturday Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu said on Friday that The Arunachal Pradesh Religion Act, 1978 which has been dormant until now – will soon have its rules framed and implemented in the state.
In IG Park Arunachal Pradesh the CM spoke on the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of the Indigenous Faith and Cultural Society of Arunachal Pradesh (IFCSAP) expressing gratitude to the first CM of Arunachal Pradesh, PK Thungon, during whose government the legislation was passed in the Assembly in 1978. The Act aims ‘to provide for the prohibition of conversion from one religious faith to any other religious faith by use of force or inducement or by fraudulent means and for matters connected therewith.’
He revealed that while the Act was dormant, a recent directive from the Gauhati High Court has mandated the state government to frame its rules for execution and implementation. “The process of framing the rules is underway, and soon we will have a properly structured religion-act”>Freedom of Religion Act in place,” Khandu said
The Act was passed 46 years ago during the tenure of the state’s first Chief Minister, PK Thungn had aimed to prohibit forced conversions or conversions through fraudulent means. It also prescribes penalties of up to two years imprisonment and a fine of up to 10,000 for violations.
The directive follows a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a resident of Naharlagun, Tambo Tamim who sought the court’s intervention as the state had not framed the required rules even after four decades of the Act being passed. The rules are being drafted as the process is underway, he added. Keep Reading Questiqa India for more.
