Bengaluru, Dec 23: The anti-superstition Bill is finally heading towards cold storage, amid receding hopes in Congress government over convincing its own party leaders on supporting its first major social reform initiative.
In a message posted on his official Twitter account on Wednesday, chief minister Siddaramaiah broadly indicated the fate of the Bill saying a section of people are blocking the proposed law against superstitious practices and the government cannot bring such legislation unless they get solid support.
Soon after the Congress was voted into office in May 2013, Siddaramaiah had asked an expert panel from the Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy from the National Law School of India University. It presented the first draft bill in November, outlining 13 superstitious practices across communities, particularly those inflicting self-wounds and conversion through bribery.
However, the government shelved it after a series of protests from religious mutts and political parties. Even leaders in the Congress questioned the need for the new law when it had not been among the election promises.
Following the killing of Kannada writer M M Kalburgi, families of slain rationalists in Maharashtra along with several litterateurs impressed upon Siddaramaiah to revive the Bill. Conceding their request, the CM had asked the social welfare department to prepare a second draft but the law department rejected it for some reasons.
Earlier, this year, the Bill was again?mooted under a new name, Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifices and other Inhuman Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Bill-2016, that prohibited 23 practices, including human torture in the name of rituals and display of miracles to earn money. But the Bill was met with stiff opposition within the Congress following which the government referred it to a cabinet sub-committee headed by revenue minister Kagodu Thimmappa.
There are a lot of people who are in favour of a new anti-superstition law but in the absence of political consensus it would be foolhardy to introduce a legislation and lose political capital. Though Siddaramaiah is keen on the Bill, his partymen have been opposing. He has no other go but to give up in the election year as the BJP is expected to play politics over it," said a senior professor, who was instrumental in the drafting of the original Bill.
Law minister T B Jayachandra said some media houses which air astrology related programmes have joined hands with mutts and political parties in opposing the Bill and it really made their job difficult. ``We will wait for the report of the cabinet-sub-committee before drawing any conclusions,'' he added.
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