Karnataka to repeal amendments to anti-conversion law and APMC Act amendment, revise textbooks

There, the state government took many major decisions, including repealing laws brought by the previous BJP government.

Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs HK Patil told reporters hat the state government had taken a total of 17 decisions including repealing amendments to the anti-conversion law and APMC Act amendment in the Cabinet meeting.

The other decision included the compulsory reading of the Preamble to the Constitution along with singing of the national and state anthems in schools and colleges, approval for the purchase of 10 double-decker electric buses at a cost of ₹28.13 crore, and a 15-percent salary hike for employees of all the state road transport corporations.

ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿ @siddaramaiah ಅವರ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇಂದು ನಡೆದ ಸಚಿವ ಸಂಪುಟ ಸಭೆಯ ಪ್ರಮುಖ ನಿರ್ಣಯ.#CabinetDecision pic.twitter.com/68ZjEAgbXa

— CM of Karnataka (@CMofKarnataka) June 15, 2023

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The Cabinet also decided to purchase rice from other states to implement the Anna Bhagya scheme, which is one of the five guarantees the Congress announced in the run-up to the Assembly elections.

This decision was taken after the Union government discontinued the supply of wheat and rice under Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic) to state governments.

It also gave approval for a minor irrigation project that is aimed at filling 70 lakes in the Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, and Tumakuru districts, at an estimated cost of ₹1,081 crore.

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Repealing anti-conversion bill

In Thursday’s Cabinet meeting, the Siddaramaiah government approved the repeal amendments to the Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill of 2021, which is also known as the anti-conversion Bill.

This Bill was passed in the Karnataka Legislative Council in September 2022, and also got the consent of Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot. Congress leaders called it unconstitutional and walked out of the House.

Patil told reporters: “The Cabinet discussed the anti-conversion bill. We have approved the bill to repeal the changes brought in by them (the BJP government) in 2022. It will be tabled during the session that starts on 3 July.”

The anti-conversion bill was first tabled in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly in December 2021.

While the BJP ensured the bill’s passage in the Assembly amid protests by the Congress and the JD(S), the bill did not go through in the Upper House.

In May last year, the Karnataka Cabinet converted the bill into an ordinance to bring a law penalising alleged religious conversions.

The bill was tabled in the Legislative Council and passed with minor amendments on 15 September, 2022.

Among the contentious points introduced in the law was that interfaith marriages involving religious conversions would be null and void.

Free education, the promise of marriage, and jobs would be deemed allurement for religious conversion.

It also proposed imprisonment from three to five years with a penalty of ₹25,000, while for violation of provisions with respect to minors, women, and SC/ST members, the offenders would face imprisonment from three to 10 years and a fine of not less than ₹50,000.

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Textbook revision soon

The Karnataka Cabinet approved the revision of Kannada and Social Science textbooks of Classes 6 to 10 in the state for the ongoing 2023-24 academic year.

It decided to remove the chapters on RSS founder KB Hedgewar and Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar, among others.

It also consented to add chapters on social reformer and educator Savitribai Phule, Nehru’s letters to Indira Gandhi, and the poetry on Ambedkar.

Changes brought by the previous BJP government in them are to be done away with.

The Congress, in its poll manifesto, promised this as well as scrapping the National Education Policy (NEP).

Primary and Secondary Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa told reporters: “Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has consistently given his guidance on this.”

Stating that the textbooks had reached the students by the time the new government came to power, the minister said, “We cannot stop it; withdrawing and reprinting new textbooks would lead to loss of hundreds of crores.”

He explained: “There is a provision of supplementary books, so we are going for a supplementary book regarding what is to be done and what is not needed or may lead to wrong thinking. We have removed what was not required.”

He also said a five-member expert committee of Rajappa Dalawai, Raveesh Kumar, Prof TR Chandrashekar, Ashwath Narayan, and Rajesh worked on revising the textbooks for this year.

“Though there were suggestions for larger changes, only a few changes have been made this time in the Kannada and social sciences textbooks of Classes 6 to 10, keeping in mind technical and printing difficulties, and because the academic year has started,” said Bangarappa, dispelling the confusion surrounding the issue.

“This may cost about ₹10-12 lakh. There are 75,000 schools in the state; we will ensure it reaches them,” he added, besides confirming that the government would ensure that the supplementary textbooks would reach all the schools in a week or two.

After Congress came to power, a delegation of writers, thinkers and representatives of various organisations met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and petitioned him regarding the revision of textbooks.

Responding to the question of what has been added and removed during the revision, Bangarappa said, “We have only restored what was there before the previous BJP government made changes; we have removed the changes they made.”

Repealing APMC Act changes

The Siddaramaiah government also decided to repeal the APMC Act amendments from 2020.

Minister Patil indicated that the state government was likely to amend the act and remove all the changes made by the previous BJP government.

“The Cabinet also made a decision to amend the APMC Act amendment in the state in order to bring back the old law,” stated Patil.

Amidst protests from farmers, experts, and Opposition parties, the BS Yediyurappa government amended the APMC (Regulation and Development) Act of 1966 in 2020.

The BJP’s amendment to the APMC Act removed restrictions on farmers to sell their produce in the mandi, and instead allowed them to sell the produce directly to buyers.

The previous government claimed it would help agrarians get better prices for their produce.

Various farm organisations, including the Karnataka Riatha Sangha, staged a year-long protest demanding the state government to withdraw the APMC Act amendment and also termed it anti-farmer.

The Congress announced in its manifesto for the 2023 Karnataka Assembly polls that it would repeal the APMC Act amendment if it was voted to power.

Even JD(S) supremo and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda opposed the amendment.