ITANAGAR, Feb 20: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Thursday said the newly framed rules under the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act (APFRA) 1978 are not intended to target any religious community but to safeguard the indigenous culture and beliefs of the people, regardless of religion.
Speaking at the Statehood Day celebrations on Thursday, Khandu emphasised that the formulation of these rules was in response to a directive from the High Court.
He explained that while the Act has been in place for 46 years, it lacked a formal set of rules, which is now being addressed.
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“The intention behind the new rules is not to target any specific religious group, be it Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, or Muslims, but rather to offer greater support to the indigenous people of the state,” Khandu said.
The Act, initially enacted during the tenure of former chief minister P K Thungon, aims to curb forced religious conversions through inducement or fraudulent means. Violations of the act carry penalties, including imprisonment of up to two years and a fine of up to Rs 10,000.
Khandu assured that the government would conduct discussions with officials, stakeholders, and religious leaders to ensure a balanced and inclusive approach.
“The government is open to discussion and accordingly entrusted Arunachal Pradesh Home Minister Mama Natung to hold dialogues with any groups and to clarify their doubts. Accordingly, the first meeting will be held on Friday with the Arunachal Christian Forum,” he said.
The Arunachal Christian Forum (ACF), which has been opposing the Act, termed it “unconstitutional” and staged a hunger strike on February 17 demanding its repeal.
Highlighting his government’s achievements, Khandu announced that within the next ten years, the state is expected to generate annual revenue of Rs 10,000 crore from free power and equity shares in power projects.
“As per our request, the Centre has approved a 26 per cent equity share in all power projects and assured to pay the amount to the state in the form of grant-in-aid,” he said.
On tourism, he added that the government has already framed a tourism policy, which is being implemented at the ground level.
“As per the request of the state government, the Centre has already approved a new tourist circuit for Tirap, Changlang, and Longding districts, due to which the inflow of tourists to the eastern districts has increased significantly,” he said. (PTI)
