Raipur: Deputy chief minister in the Vishnu Deo Sai government Vijay Sharma, who holds home portfolio, on Monday announced that the state would bring ‘stringent’ legislation to curb religious conversions facilitated by some foreign funded Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) in Chhattisgarh.
“We will enact a stringent legislation to stop religious conversions in Chhattisgarh and also may go for scrutiny of foreign funds provided to the NGOs involved in such activities”, Mr. Sharma told the state Assembly here.
Mr. Sharma said his government would not tolerate any kind of forced and illegal religious conversions in the state.
“The Centre is monitoring the NGOs receiving foreign funds. The Union home ministry has been informed that further action will be taken if the state government receives complaints of illegal activities by any NGO”, Mr. Sharma said.
He however said the state government has taken actions in case of forced and illegal religious conversions in Chhattisgarh.
According to him, one case was lodged in this connection in 2020, seven in 2021, three in 2022, zero in 2023, 12 in 2024 and four cases have so far been registered in the current year.
He said earlier there were 364 foreign funded NGOs operating in the state.
Of these 84 were later banned and the validity of the 127 others has meanwhile expired.
Currently, 153 NGOs receiving foreign funds are operating in Chhattisgarh.
Mr. Sharma said the state government has decided to audit the institutions engaged in the health and education sectors that received financial aid from the state.
Earlier, raising a question in the house, BJP MLA Ajey Chandrakar alleged that some NGOs, receiving foreign funds to work in the fields of health, education and social work sectors, indulged in religious conversions.
“Religious conversions are done by some organizations on the pretext of holding Changai sabhas (healing camps)”, he alleged.
