Constitutional rights of all communities to be protected: CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 30 : Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said the constitutional rights of all communities in the state, including Christians, will be protected.

He made the remark during a meeting with a delegation of Christian pastors and leaders of Christian organisations at his home office, Krishna.

The delegation on behalf of the Indian Christian Forum held discussions on a range of issues.

The deliberations mostly centred on the problems being faced by members of the Christian community and the delegation also handed over a petition to the chief minister, listing their demands.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, the CM informed that his government has decided to withdraw the "unconstitutional amendment" to the Prohibition of Conversion Act during the previous BJP-ruled government.

He added further that "false cases" registered against the pastors under the Prohibition of Conversion Act will be reviewed.

He also promised more grants to the state's Christian community in the next budget.

The CM's political secretaries Govindaraju, and Naseer Ahmed and representatives of 14 denominations of Christians were also present at the meeting.

Earlier this month, the Siddharamiah government decided to repeal the contentious anti-conversion law that was enacted and enforced during the previous regime.

Defending the move to roll back the anti-conversion law brought in by the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government, state Home Minister G Parameshwara said the earlier regime brought certain amendments to provisions of existing laws that were in violation of the tenets of the Constitution.

"What we are doing now is repealing those provisions...We will repeal it by amending those provisions," he told reporters in Bengaluru earlier.

"...The previous government (BJP) brought an amendment to that effect, which is against the Constitution," Parameshwara said.