Dear CM, can you please answer the following questions? Can you honestly tell Goans why this anti-conversion bill is needed? Why is this bill being introduced now, just before the election? Can you clearly define the word ‘forced’?
Can you make public the real, not fabricated, statistics on forced conversions in Goa? Can you prove that any “fraudulent means or force” have been used by anyone in Goa? Or is this your government’s way of harassing minority institutions and routine prayer meetings? If you are so concerned about the religion of the people, which is actually not the government’s business, why is the same concern not shown in other departments?
Why is there no bill imposing harsh punishment on MLAs who change parties after an election and betray their voters? Why is there no bill against MLAs who take oaths in front of religious places to remain faithful to their party and constituency, and then blatantly betray those oaths? Why is there no bill to address faulty electricity meters and exorbitant electricity bills? Why is there no bill holding road contractors accountable for potholes and substandard work? Why is there no bill against MLAs who support anti-communal or anti-religious activities on public platforms? Why is there no bill on the retirement age of politicians? Why is there no entrance test for those who want to become politicians?
Why is there no bill to address unlawful brutality by the police? Conversion is a matter of an individual’s experience of God. Do you have the power to curb the power of God? Does God speak to you? Will charity towards SC/ST communities be considered ‘allurement’, allowing the government to harass and punish those who genuinely want to help? Can you prove, beyond doubt, that any charity carried out so far was done with the intention of converting SC/ST communities?
Can the state go against freedom of religion, freedom of conscience and individual liberty? Does an individual need the State’s permission to believe in a different God? Can the state go against the Constitutional right of every citizen to choose their own God or religion? In what way exactly will this bill protect vulnerable groups? In what sense can someone’s personal conversion story be called exploitation? Please, CM, Goans need to know.
Fr Nelson Lobo OFM Cap, Kuwait
