Law against stone-pelters to have provision of life term: Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan

INDORE: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday reiterated that a stringent law with a provision of life imprisonment will be enacted to curb the incidents of stone pelting in the state.

He said this during a public meeting here.

"We are enacting a strong law against the stone-pelters. (Under the proposed law) They will be sentenced to life imprisonment. They will not be allowed to be released from jail before that," he said.

"Stone pelters throw stones everywhere. They try to spread terror in public," the chief minister said.

His statement comes in the wake of recent incidents of violence and stone pelting during right wing organisations recent rallies in western Madhya Pradesh to raise awareness about the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Chouhan further said, "I will not tolerate 'love jihad' or any such work in Madhya Pradesh at any cost, in which our naive daughters are allured and their lives are spoilt. We have enacted strong laws to prevent such incidents."

"People who play with the lives of sisters and daughters should think that now (from the court) they will not get only a small punishment. They will be sentenced to life imprisonment," he said.

He was referring to the he Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill 2020, which provides for prison term of up to 10 years and fine of Rs 1 lakh for conversion through marriage or by any other fraudulent means.

The bill got the state cabinet's approval recently.

The chief minister inaugurated and performed the 'bhoomi pujan' of 16 development works worth more than Rs 200 crore during his day-long visit to Indore.