Muslims will be biggest beneficiaries: Minority panel head on Maharashtra anti-conversion law

Nagpur, Aug 28 (PTI) Chairman of the Maharashtra State Minority Commission, Pyare Khan, on Friday welcomed the rollout of the state anti-conversion law, and said the Muslim community will be its biggest beneficiary.

Opposition Congress, however, slammed the BJP over the law, stating that the ruling party had no business left other than pitting Hindus against Muslims. It also said the government should instead focus on key issues like education, jobs and foreign investment.

Maharashtra's anti-conversion law, the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act, 2026, officially came into force on Friday. It had received the Presidential assent and its official gazette notification was issued on July 30.

The new law paves the way for action against religious conversions carried out through coercion, fraud, inducement or marriage.

Under the new law, a person intending to embrace another faith must inform the district magistrate at least 60 days in advance. The law provides for punishment of seven years in jail for violations of procedures.

Talking to PTI Videos, Khan congratulated Chief Minister Devendra for bringing the law.

"This law removes the worries and anxieties of any families irrespective of whether they are Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis or Hindus. The law will protect the original religious identity of the girl after the marriage. That means if a Muslim girl wants to become Hindu, she will legally remain Muslim, and vice versa," he said.

"This is a very good law and it ends families' worries. The biggest benefit will go to Muslims. If you look at who benefits the most from this law, it will be Muslims because their original identity will be preserved through it. So I think this is a very good step and the CM deserves to be congratulated for it," Khan added.

When asked about Fadnavis announcing a one-year extension for autorickshaw and cab drivers to acquire working knowledge of Marathi language, Khan said the CM has always had a positive approach on this issue.

"If you want to do business in Maharashtra and your business is affected due to lack of Marathi knowledge, I think you should certainly learn the language. In the administration, in IAS, IPS recruitment, Marathi is compulsory, because official correspondence is done in Marathi in the state. So you should definitely learn Marathi," he said.

Meanwhile, criticising the BJP over the anti-conversion law, Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe said the BJP has no business left other than such issues.

"There are already laws against forcible religious conversion in the country...The BJP does not want to reopen 17,000 to 18,000 schools that were shut down," he said.

According to a judge, using just 0.1 per cent of the money allocated for the Nashik Kumbh Mela could have saved 100 to 150 Marathi-medium schools from shutting down, he said.

"The question today is that we must make children's education affordable," Londhe said.

He said disputes and frictions were on the rise society and people were committing suicide. "All of this is happening due to economic inequality and economic distress. All these things need more attention," he added.

"Religion is a private matter. Following a religion is one's personal choice. If someone forces another to convert, there is already a legal provision to take action against that. But focusing on Hindu-Muslims, and speaking about 'Tukde-Tukde gang' will not benefit anyone. It will not create jobs," he said.

"The government should be worried that foreign companies don't want to invest in the country. This is the area the government should focus on. But they don't want to do it. It's not their priority. Their priority is to pit one person against another and engage them fighting to build an election strategy," Londhe slammed the BJP dispensation. PTI