In the recent development, the Gujarat Government on Monday had withdrawn the controversial Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill of 2006 which the governor had returned to the Legislative Assembly for reconsideration in August last year.

Gujarat Governor Nawal Kishore Sharma in his message, read out in the Assembly by speaker Ashok Bhatt, said he found it to be violating the Article 25(A) of the Constitution.

Minister of state for home Amit Shah sought the permission of the House to withdraw the Bill. Raising a point of order, leader of opposition Shaktisinh Gohil said a Bill cannot be withdrawn at this stage. However, the speaker rejected his point of order and said that under Rule 148 of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly a Bill can be withdrawn at any stage.

The motion to withdraw the Bill was put to vote and it was passed unanimously by a voice vote.

The Bill proposed to allow conversions amongst followers of different sects of the same faith as well as between Hindus, Buddhists and Jains.

The government would not have had to intervene if the Bill had been passed in case of conversions between followers of the same religion, but different sects like Shia to Sunni among muslims or protestant to Catholic among Christians prompted the government to intervene.

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