The Chhattisgarh Cabinet on Tuesday approved the draft of the Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Bill 2026, which seeks to prohibit religious conversions carried out through force, allurement, fraud, undue influence or misrepresentation. The bill, cleared at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, is being described as a significant step toward regulating interfaith conversions in the state and is expected to be tabled in the next session of the Vidhan Sabha.
The state already has the Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Act of 1968 in place, but the new bill is intended to be considerably stronger and more comprehensive in its scope.
Home Minister Had Promised a Stricter Law
Chhattisgarh Home Minister Vijay Sharma had announced in October last year that the government would introduce an anti-conversion law in the next Assembly session. Speaking to reporters at the time, Sharma said the draft had been prepared after a thorough study of all existing state-level anti-conversion laws across the country. He specifically flagged what he called Changai Sabha, or healing congregations, saying these events were being used to mislead people and that the new law would contain provisions to deal with them.
A Backdrop of Tensions Over Conversions
The bill comes against a backdrop of sustained and often violent tensions in Chhattisgarh over the issue of religious conversion, particularly in the tribal belt of Bastar. On Christmas Eve in 2025, right-wing groups destroyed Christmas decorations at a popular mall in Raipur during a Chhattisgarh Bandh called to protest alleged illegal conversions in Bastar.
In July last year, two nuns from Kerala were arrested by the Durg Government Railway Police on charges of trafficking and illegally converting three women from Narayanpur district. The women later clarified that the nuns were simply helping them find employment and that no conversion had taken place.
In January 2023, a mob of around 50 people vandalised a church in Narayanpur district and attacked police personnel, including the Superintendent of Police. In the aftermath, more than 100 people who had converted to Christianity were reportedly socially boycotted from their villages in Kanker, Kondagaon and Narayanpur and were forced to take shelter in a local stadium.
Staff Selection Board Formed, Anti-Paper Leak Law Approved
Beyond the religion bill, Tuesday’s cabinet meeting also cleared the formation of the Chhattisgarh Staff Selection Board, a new body that will conduct recruitment examinations for Grade-III and Grade-IV technical and non-technical government posts. The Chhattisgarh Prevention of Unfair Means in Public Recruitment Bill 2026 was also approved, introducing stringent measures to eliminate cheating and paper leaks in government recruitment examinations.
Property Registration Cess Abolished
In a relief for homebuyers, the cabinet approved the Chhattisgarh Cess Amendment Bill 2026, which will scrap a 12 percent additional cess on property registrations that had been introduced in 2023 to fund the now-discontinued Rajiv Gandhi Mitan Club scheme. With the scheme having been wound up, the government said there was no justification for continuing to levy the charge on property buyers.
