Goa Government to Table Strict Anti‑Conversion Bill as Three‑Day Assembly Begins

Overview

• The BJP-led state cabinet approved the Goa Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill and it will be formally tabled when the assembly meets on Monday.
• The bill defines unlawful conversion to include force, coercion, undue influence, allurement, fraud or marriage and proposes penalties up to life imprisonment, minimum fines of Rs 50,000 and victim compensation up to Rs 5 lakh.
• Opposition parties and at least one government-supporting independent have publicly urged the government to reconsider the measure, arguing it could create communal disharmony in the state.
• The three-day monsoon session will introduce 15 government bills and take up 883 questions, a compressed agenda that opponents say will limit time for scrutiny and debate.
• The session opens after a Porvorim shootout that has raised fresh law-and-order questions, and the assembly now has an effective strength of 38 members while the BJP retains a working majority.