The Evening Wrap: Karnataka Assembly passes anti-conversion bill amidst protests

The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday adopted the anti-conversion bill — The Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021 — through a voice vote during the ongoing Winter Session at the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru even as the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) members staged a dharna in the well of the House. The Bill proposes a maximum punishment of 10 years of imprisonment for forcible conversion of persons from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, minors and women to another religion. The Bill prohibits conversion by misrepresentation, force, fraud, allurement of marriage, coercion and undue influence. With less than six hours of discussion on the Bill, Congress members sought more time to participate in the discussion while a remark on “cutting people to pieces if they come in the way of protecting Hindus” by Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister K.S. Eshwarappa triggered an angry reaction following which the members staged a dharna in the Well. The Bill has also received criticism from several human rights organisations, which held a protest in Bengaluru, demanding its immediate withdrawal. Meanwhile, the Congress faced embarrassing moments even as it was gearing up to oppose the government’s bid to introduce the Bill. The ruling BJP furnished documents showing that the draft of a bill on similar lines had been prepared in 2016 by the then Congress government led by Siddaramaiah. Read our explainer to know more about the Bill. One dead, three injured in explosion at Ludhiana court complex One person was killed and five sustained injuries in an explosion at the district court complex in Ludhiana on Thursday. Political parties asserted that the incident was an attempt to create disturbances in Punjab ahead of the Assembly elections in early 2022. Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi drew a parallel between the registration of an FIR against Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia and the Ludhiana blast as well as the recent incidents of alleged sacrilege. The Union Home Ministry has sought a report from the Punjab Government on the blast, a senior government official said. Union Home Minister Amit Shah was also briefed about the incident, the official added. An eyewitness told The Hindu that the blast was so powerful that it badly damaged one of the walls in the complex besides shattering most of the windows of the building. At the time of the explosion, hundreds of people were in the complex. Dalit cook sacked in Uttarakhand after upper caste students refuse to eat food prepared by her A Dalit woman who served mid-day meal at a government secondary school in Uttarakhand's Champawat district was allegedly removed from her job after upper caste students refused to eat the meal cooked by her. The incident occurred at a school in Sukhidhang in Champawat district. A day after her appointment as the ‘Bhojanmata’ earlier this month, students stopped eating the meal cooked by her because of her caste and began bringing their food from home. Reportedly, out of 66 students in the school 40 had refused to eat the meal prepared by her. Even the parents of the students objected to her appointment as ‘Bhojanmata’ when an upper caste woman had also been interviewed for the job. However, Chief Education Officer of Champawat R.C. Purohit said her appointment had been cancelled as it was found that the norms had not been followed in her appointment. Cow is mother, sacred to us, says PM Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said cow is mother and sacred to many people and those who find this as “sin” don’t realise that livelihood of crores of people depends on cattle. The Prime Minister was addressing the rally after inaugurating and laying foundation stones of 27 projects worth ₹2,095 crore in Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency, just months ahead of the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. Taking a jibe at rival parties, he said those making jokes on cows and buffaloes forget that the livelihood of crores of people depends on pashudhan (livestock). “Cow is mother and sacred to us,” he said, adding that some find it as “sin”. Mr. Modi has been regularly visiting the poll-bound State to campaign for the Bharatiya Janata Party. The PM has also launched and inaugurated a number of projects in the politically crucial State just ahead of the Assembly polls. Mr. Modi has also launched scathing attacks on the rivals, mainly the Samajwadi Party on various lines. Addressing a rally in Gorakhpur earlier this month, the PM said the Akhilesh Yadav-led party wanted to form a government in Uttar Pradesh so that it could show leniency towards “terrorists” and free them from jail. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The Central Government has advised States slated to hold Assembly polls in the next few months to ramp up COVID-19 vaccination exponentially to protect the vulnerable population given the steady rise in cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus in India. Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that more than 60% of the eligible adult population in the country is now fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 3,47,65,984 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 4,78,759. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 23 DECEMBER 2021 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Karnataka Assembly passes anti-conversion bill amidst protests The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday [adopted the anti-conversion bill]( — The Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021 — through a voice vote during the ongoing Winter Session at the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru even as the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) members staged a dharna in the well of the House. The Bill proposes a maximum punishment of 10 years of imprisonment for forcible conversion of persons from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, minors and women to another religion. The Bill prohibits conversion by misrepresentation, force, fraud, allurement of marriage, coercion and undue influence. With less than six hours of discussion on the Bill, Congress members sought more time to participate in the discussion while a remark on “cutting people to pieces if they come in the way of protecting Hindus” by Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister K.S. Eshwarappa triggered an angry reaction following which the members staged a dharna in the Well. The Bill has also [received criticism]( from several human rights organisations, which held a protest in Bengaluru, demanding its immediate withdrawal. Meanwhile, the Congress faced embarrassing moments even as it was gearing up to oppose the government’s bid to introduce the Bill. The ruling BJP furnished documents showing that the draft of a bill on similar lines had been prepared in 2016 by the then Congress government led by Siddaramaiah. [The Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill was passed by the Assembly in Belagavi on December 23 during the winter session of the legislature.]  Read our [explainer]( to know more about the Bill.   [underlineimg] One dead, three injured in explosion at Ludhiana court complex [One person was killed and five sustained injuries in an explosion]( at the district court complex in Ludhiana on Thursday. Political parties asserted that the incident was an attempt to create disturbances in Punjab ahead of the Assembly elections in early 2022. Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi drew a parallel between the registration of an [FIR against Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia]( and the Ludhiana blast as well as the recent incidents of alleged sacrilege. The Union Home Ministry has sought a report from the Punjab Government on the blast, a senior government official said. Union Home Minister Amit Shah was also briefed about the incident, the official added. [Police inspect the site of a blast, in which one person was killed and many others were injured, inside the court complex in Ludhiana, Punjab, on December 23, 2021.]  An eyewitness told The Hindu that the blast was so powerful that it badly damaged one of the walls in the complex besides shattering most of the windows of the building. At the time of the explosion, hundreds of people were in the complex. [underlineimg] Dalit cook sacked in Uttarakhand after upper caste students refuse to eat food prepared by her A Dalit woman who served mid-day meal at a government secondary school in Uttarakhand's Champawat district [was allegedly removed from her job after upper caste students refused to eat the meal cooked by her]( The incident occurred at a school in Sukhidhang in Champawat district. A day after her appointment as the ‘Bhojanmata’ earlier this month, students stopped eating the meal cooked by her because of her caste and began bringing their food from home. Reportedly, out of 66 students in the school 40 had refused to eat the meal prepared by her. Even the parents of the students objected to her appointment as ‘Bhojanmata’ when an upper caste woman had also been interviewed for the job. However, Chief Education Officer of Champawat R.C. Purohit said her appointment had been cancelled as it was found that the norms had not been followed in her appointment. [underlineimg] Cow is mother, sacred to us, says PM Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday [said cow is mother and sacred to many people]( and those who find this as “sin” don’t realise that livelihood of crores of people depends on cattle. The Prime Minister was addressing the rally after inaugurating and laying foundation stones of 27 projects worth ₹2,095 crore in Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency, just months ahead of the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. Taking a jibe at rival parties, he said those making jokes on cows and buffaloes forget that the livelihood of crores of people depends on pashudhan (livestock).  “Cow is mother and sacred to us,” he said, adding that some find it as “sin”. Mr. Modi has been regularly visiting the poll-bound State to campaign for the Bharatiya Janata Party. The PM has also [launched and inaugurated a number of projects]( in the politically crucial State just ahead of the Assembly polls. Mr. Modi has also launched [scathing attacks on the rivals]( mainly the Samajwadi Party on various lines. Addressing a rally in Gorakhpur earlier this month, the PM said the Akhilesh Yadav-led party wanted to form a government in Uttar Pradesh so that it could show [leniency towards “terrorists”]( and free them from jail. [underlineimg] Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The [Central Government has advised States slated to hold Assembly polls]( in the next few months to ramp up COVID-19 vaccination exponentially to protect the vulnerable population given the steady rise in cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus in India. Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that more than 60% of the eligible adult population in the country is now fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The [number of reported coronavirus cases from India]( stood at 3,47,65,984 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 4,78,759. [underlineimg] Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. Today's Top Picks [[How mridangam exponent Trichy Sankaran elevated the art of accompaniment] How mridangam exponent Trichy Sankaran elevated the art of accompaniment]( [[Sid Sriram on what Carnatic music means to him] Sid Sriram on what Carnatic music means to him]( [[The evolution of Kamala Harris | The Hindu on Books Podcast] The evolution of Kamala Harris | The Hindu on Books Podcast]( [[Beyond ‘Squid Game’: How K-Dramas in 2021 navigated sageuks, style and substance] Beyond ‘Squid Game’: How K-Dramas in 2021 navigated sageuks, style and substance]( Copyright @ 2021, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. If you are facing any trouble in viewing this newsletter, please [try here]( If you do not wish to receive such emails [go here](