MYSURU: Opposition leader Siddaramaiah on Wednesday strongly opposed the state government’s plans to introduce a law banning religious conversions for the sake of marriage. Speaking to journalists, he said marriage is a personal choice and any move to bring such a law will be unconstitutional and doubted if it will stand legal scrutiny.
Asked about the government coming out with too many laws, including amendments to land reforms, and now keen to push their plan against religious conversions, he said no one can take away the constitutional rights of individuals. Siddaramaiah also opposed opening of schools and said, “I feel schools should not be opened until the state is free from Covid- 19. Let there not be a hurried decision in this regard.
”He suggested online classes instead. On the assembly bypolls, he said Congress candidates Kusuma in RR Nagar and T B Jayachandra in Sira have all the chances of winning. He recalled that Jayachandra had lost in the previous election due to the propaganda launched against him.
He claimed that the people had responded positively during the campaign as they compared the BJP government with the earlier Congress rule. He said the bypolls would help to know the pulse of the people and prepare for the ensuing panchayat elections. Siddaramaiah claimed that CM B S Yediyurappa would be changed after the bypoll results and that he had information on this from Delhi.
Pitches for Biden
Opposition leader Siddaramaiah, who had a hectic schedule campaigning for party candidates in the bypolls, has now shifted his focus to the US presidential election, fought by President Donald Trump and Democrat candidate Joe Biden. Siddaramaiah pitched for Biden as he felt that Trump would have to pay for his ‘misdeeds’. He said the Narendra Modi factor will not work in the US elections as the issues there are different. On Bihar elections, he said Nitish Kumar, a three-time CM, won the previous election by forming an alliance with RJD and later ditched it to join hands with the BJP to form the government.
Thinking of law to curb conversions: Bommai
Bengaluru: Terming religious conversions only for marriage a social menace, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday told TNIE, “In the last one decade, there are several cases and complaints regarding using marriages for conversion of religion. This factor is an All-India phenomenon and it has become a social menace. We are talking to legal experts to find out the necessary legal framework to address this issue.”