Friday, May 19, 2006

Govt mulls bill to check conversions

HT Correspondent
Jabalpur, May 17, 2006

CHIEF MINISTER Shivraj Singh Chouhan today said his government would think over bringing in a bill to check conversions. His statement assumes significance in the light of the incidents of attacks on Christian assemblies and police cases forcibly registered by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activists against Christian priests alleging conversion attempts.

In Jabalpur, more than a dozen such incidents have occurred in the last two months. In one of the incidents, the police booked a 75-year-old woman on the charge of propagating Christianity through pamphlet distribution.

The Chief Minister was in the town to visit the residence of Minister of State for Fisheries Moti Kashyap, whose mother recently died.

Talking briefly to reporters at Kashyap's residence Chouhan ruled out the possibility of an early Cabinet expansion. “As of now there is no plan to expand the Cabinet”, he remarked.

About the BJP candidate for the Vidisha parliamentary by-elections, he said the concerned committee of the party would decide the name.

On health service hit by the medical students' protest against reservation quota, the Chief Minister said he had directed Health Minister Ajay Vishnoi to ensure that the patients get adequate medical attention. He said that the unrest has been caused following the Centre's action.

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