Panaji: Amid mounting opposition to the draft anti-religious conversion legislation, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said that any discussion on the bill will take place in the state assembly during the monsoon session starting August 31.
The cabinet-approved Goa Prohibition of Unlawful Conversions of Religion Bill, 2026, proposes strict punishment for religious conversion allegedly carried out through force, coercion, undue influence, allurement, fraudulent means or marriage.
The Opposition parties, including Congress and AAP, and Independent MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lorenco, have opposed the bill, claiming that it could trigger communal disharmony in the state.
Reacting to the opposition on Thursday, Sawant said, “Let the bill be tabled in the House. We will discuss it there.” The chief minister refused to comment further on this proposed legislation.
The bill will be introduced in the state assembly during the upcoming three-day monsoon session.
Under the bill, offenders may face up to life imprisonment, and it proposes fines of at least Rs 50,000 and compensation of up to Rs 5 lakh to victims.
The proposed legislation also seeks to declare the marriage as “void” if it is found that it was done only for religious conversion.
Offenders, including Hindu priests and Muslim clerics, could face a minimum of 10 years’ imprisonment.
Unlawful conversion of a minor, a person with disabilities, a woman, or a member of the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes would attract rigorous imprisonment of 5 to 14 years along with a minimum fine of Rs 1 lakh, it was stated.
States including Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh have already enacted anti-conversion legislation.
