Chhattisgarh has enacted one of India's most stringent anti-conversion laws — replacing a 58-year-old act with sweeping new provisions that will reshape religious freedom in the state.

The Chhattisgarh Assembly has passed the Dharma Swatantrya (Freedom of Religion) Bill 2026, making it one of the most comprehensive and far-reaching anti-conversion legislations in India. Introduced by Home Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma — who held over 50 marathon consultations to finalise the bill — the new law replaces the outdated Chhattisgarh Dharma Swatantrya Act of 1968. It passed by voice vote, with BJP MLAs breaking into chants of "Jai Shri Ram" on the floor of the House. The opposition staged a walkout, calling for broader consultation before passage.

What the Law Says — Punishments in Detail

The bill establishes a tiered punishment framework based on the severity and nature of the illegal conversion.

For standard cases of illegal conversion through force, allurement, fraud or misrepresentation, the punishment is 7 to 10 years imprisonment and a minimum fine of Rs 5 lakh.

Where the victim is a minor, a woman, or belongs to SC, ST or OBC communities, the punishment is enhanced to 10 to 20 years imprisonment and a minimum fine of Rs 10 lakh.

For mass conversions, the penalty is the most severe — 10 years to life imprisonment and a minimum fine of Rs 25 lakh.

Any person who assists or facilitates an illegal conversion — even in a supporting role — faces a minimum of 6 months and up to 3 years in prison, along with a Rs 2 lakh fine.

Repeat offenders — those convicted of facilitating illegal conversion, who subsequently commit the offence again after serving their sentence — will face life imprisonment. Courts may reduce this in exceptional circumstances for special reasons on record.

60 Days' Prior Notice — Mandatory for All Conversions

One of the most operationally significant provisions of the bill is the mandatory prior notice requirement. Any individual wishing to voluntarily convert their religion must submit an application to the District Collector at least 60 days in advance. This requirement applies not just to the person converting but also to the priest, pastor, maulvi or religious officiant conducting the conversion ceremony — they too must notify the district administration 60 days prior. Any conversion conducted without this prior notice will be treated as illegal and will invite immediate arrest.

Marriage-Based Conversion Declared Void

The bill contains specific provisions targeting conversions conducted solely for the purpose of marriage — widely referred to in political discourse as "love jihad." Under the new law, if a court determines that a marriage was solemnised with the primary intention of causing a religious conversion, that marriage will be declared legally void. Couples intending to convert prior to marriage must declare their intention two months in advance, and the District Magistrate will personally conduct an inquiry into the matter.

Crackdown on Foreign Funding

The bill also takes direct aim at foreign-funded conversion activities. Any organisation found to be involved in allurement-based or mass conversion using foreign funding will face cancellation of registration and heavy financial penalties. The government has made explicit its intent to block overseas money from influencing religious demographics in the state.

Special Courts — Six-Month Fast Track

To ensure swift justice, the bill mandates the establishment of a special court in every district of Chhattisgarh dedicated to hearing cases under this law. The government's stated objective is to resolve all cases within six months of filing.

Why Chhattisgarh Felt This Law Was Needed

The government has pointed to rising tensions in tribal-dominated regions — particularly Bastar, Jashpur and Raigarh — as the primary justification for the law. Large-scale conversion of tribal communities to Christianity has been a source of conflict in these areas, with disputes between converted and non-converted tribal groups sometimes turning violent. In Narayanpur, Bastar, the friction has reportedly escalated into factional clashes. The government argues that the 1968 law lacked the teeth to address modern methods of inducement and organised conversion networks.

Chhattisgarh has an estimated population of 3.3 crore, of whom approximately 2.38 crore are Hindu, 4.90 lakh are Christian and 5.14 lakh are Muslim. The state has around 900 churches, including the second largest Roman Catholic Cathedral in Asia located in Kunkuri, Jashpur — a major centre of Christian worship drawing devotees from multiple states.

Opposition's Stand — Unconstitutional, Rushed

The Congress-led opposition walked out before the vote, arguing that a law of this magnitude — with implications for fundamental rights and religious freedom guaranteed under the Constitution — should not have been passed without consulting retired Supreme Court and High Court judges, legal experts and representatives of all political parties. They have signalled a possible legal challenge to the bill.

A Law That Will Be Tested in Court

The Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Bill 2026 is already one of the most debated pieces of state legislation in India this year. Its constitutionality — particularly the provisions on prior notice, marriage-based conversion being void, and the extent of punishment — is almost certain to face scrutiny in the High Court and potentially the Supreme Court. Whether it withstands that scrutiny will determine whether it becomes a model for other BJP-governed states or a cautionary tale about legislative overreach.

The last day of a session is always the most charged — and Chhattisgarh's Assembly is set for a fiery finish.

Today marks the final day of the Chhattisgarh Assembly Budget Session 2026 in Raipur. With the session drawing to a close, the opposition is gearing up for one last all-out attempt to put the ruling BJP government on the back foot across multiple fronts — from pension policy to urban transport to alleged irregularities in a major religious development project. Meanwhile, the government is laser-focused on pushing through three significant pieces of legislation before the gavel falls.

Opposition's Agenda — Questions the Government Must Answer

Leader of Opposition Charandas Mahant will open the attack during Question Hour, raising the issue of industries generating hazardous waste in the state — a matter with serious environmental and public health implications that has allegedly been inadequately addressed by the government.

MLA Punnulal Mohle will put the spotlight on the long-pending demand of government officers and employees seeking a switch from the New Pension Scheme (NPS) back to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) — a politically sensitive issue that has mobilised government employees across Chhattisgarh and the country. The government's response on this will be closely watched by lakhs of state employees.

MLA Harshita Swami Baghel will raise the matter of alleged irregularities in the construction of Shri Yantra Bhavan in Dongargarh under the central government's PRASAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive) scheme — a project meant to develop one of Chhattisgarh's most prominent religious sites but now mired in questions of financial impropriety.

MLA Sunil Soni will draw Deputy Chief Minister Arun Saw's attention to the failure to launch city bus services on new routes in Raipur — a basic urban infrastructure demand that has left commuters in the state capital without adequate public transport.

MLA Ramkumar Toppo will raise the issue of maintenance of Karma Ethnic Resort in Mainpat — a tourism asset that has drawn criticism for alleged neglect.

71 Attention Motions — A Government Under Fire on All Sides

Beyond the formal question hour, a total of 71 attention motions have been submitted for today's session — an unusually high number that reflects the breadth of grievances opposition MLAs wish to place on record on the session's last day. Among these, MLA Tuleshwar Markam will seek to draw the minister's attention to alleged irregularities by excise officials in the Raipur division.

Three Major Bills the Government Wants Passed Today

While the opposition is on the offensive, the ruling government has a clear legislative agenda for the day — getting three important bills through the House.

The first is the Chhattisgarh Cess (Amendment) Bill 2026, to be introduced by Commerce and Tax Minister O.P. Chaudhary. This amendment is expected to revise the state's cess framework with implications for trade and taxation.

The second — and perhaps the most significant — is the Chhattisgarh (Prevention of Unfair Means in Public Recruitment and Professional Examinations) Bill 2026, to be moved by Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai himself. This anti-paper leak and anti-cheating legislation is widely seen as a direct response to the wave of recruitment exam scandals that have rocked the state in recent years. If passed, it will create a strict legal framework to deter malpractice in competitive examinations, a demand that has been long-voiced by students and aspirants across Chhattisgarh.

The third is the Chhattisgarh Employee Selection Board Bill 2026 — a structural reform aimed at streamlining and systematising the state's recruitment process through a revamped selection board framework.

Conversion Law Already Passed — A Session of Consequences

The Budget Session has already made national headlines for one landmark piece of legislation. The Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Bill 2026 was passed in the Assembly, making illegal religious conversion punishable by 7 to 10 years in prison and a minimum fine of Rs 5 lakh. Those who assist or facilitate illegal conversions will also face imprisonment. The law has been both praised by the ruling BJP and sharply criticised by opposition and civil society groups as constitutionally overreaching.

A Session That Will Be Remembered

Today's final day brings together everything that defines modern Indian state politics — a government trying to legislate at pace, an opposition trying to hold it accountable, and a long list of unresolved public grievances from pensions to potholes. Whether the three bills pass smoothly or face floor disruptions, and whether the government provides satisfactory answers on OPS, Dongargarh and city buses, will determine how this Budget Session is ultimately judged by the people of Chhattisgarh.

The twelfth day of Chhattisgarh's budget session on Monday turned into one of its most turbulent yet, with the Opposition walking out of the House not once but twice — first over the government's evasive answers on illegal land plotting in Dhamtari and Kanker, and then in protest after their adjournment motion against the renaming of MGNREGA was rejected. Uproar, sloganeering, and a five-minute suspension of proceedings marked a day that laid bare the deepening hostility between the ruling BJP and the Congress benches.

Illegal Plotting: Vague Answers, Furious Opposition

The session opened with Congress MLA Ambika Markam directing pointed questions at Revenue Minister Tankram Verma about illegal land plotting in Dhamtari and Kanker districts. She asked how many complaints had been received between 2024 and January 31, 2026, how many survey numbers had been investigated, and what concrete action had been taken against the guilty.

Verma's response was thin. He told the House that three complaints had been received in Dhamtari and five in Kanker, that eight out of a total 175 survey numbers had been investigated, and that action was still in process. Three patwaris had had their salary increments stopped, and 67 individuals had been served notices.

Former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel was quick to expose the hollowness of these answers. He pointed out that this very question comes up every session, yet the government has never been able to clearly say how many illegal colonies have been built across the state, how many people have actually been prosecuted, or when the patwari action was taken. For twenty-five minutes, he noted, the minister had been unable to give a direct reply — answering questions about Dhamtari with Kanker's data and vice versa.

Even BJP MLA Ajay Chandrakar pressed the minister, asking him to specify exactly when these colonies were built and when action would follow. Verma's response — that a timeline could not be given and that the revenue department itself was capable of investigating — only added to the frustration. Baghel accused the minister's own department of actively patronising illegal colonies rather than acting against them. The Opposition demanded an EOW investigation and, when that was rejected, walked out of the House in protest.

Nursery and Plantation Row: Question Itself Disputed

The session then moved to a question raised by Congress MLA Chaturi Nand about nursery and plantation work in the Jangalbeda village of Saraipali forest range in Mahasamund. Nand alleged that the original question put to the government had been altered before being taken up in the House — a serious procedural charge.

Baghel backed him up, calling it a grave matter and demanding action against the departmental officials responsible for the change. Forest Minister Kedar Kashyap responded that the question before him related to 2025, and he had answered accordingly. Nand flatly said his original question had nothing to do with 2025. The Speaker intervened to explain that because no specific time period had been mentioned in the original question, a period was fixed to make it answerable — without which the question could not have been admitted at all. The clarification did not fully satisfy the Opposition, but the matter was moved past.

'Ji Ram Ji' Row: Congress Brings Adjournment Motion, House Erupts

The most dramatic moments of the day came during Zero Hour, when Congress brought an adjournment motion opposing the central government's decision to rename MGNREGA — referred to in political shorthand as the 'Ji Ram Ji' controversy, in reference to the new name being proposed. Baghel moved the motion, called the original MGNREGA a far superior scheme in its original form, and demanded that the House admit the motion and hold a full discussion on the issue.

BJP MLA Ajay Chandrakar hit back hard, declaring that the Assembly is not a platform for Opposition politics and not a stage for Congress to run its campaigns. He said the House belongs to the people and its time is too precious to be spent on political theatre. The exchange between both sides quickly escalated — sharp arguments turned to sloganeering, the noise level in the chamber rose sharply, and the Speaker was forced to suspend proceedings for five minutes to restore order.

When the adjournment motion was formally rejected, the Opposition refused to return. Leader of Opposition Dr Charandas Mahant declared that if the people's issues were being raised, then politics would be done — and the Congress benches walked out of the House for the second time in a single day, boycotting the remainder of the session's proceedings.

What It Signals

With just three sitting days remaining before the budget session concludes on March 20, the government faces the task of passing the Appropriation Bill and other pending legislation through a House where the Opposition has now made clear it will disrupt, walk out, and refuse to cooperate at every opportunity. The back-to-back walkouts on Day 12 are not just procedural protests — they are a signal that the Congress intends to carry the energy from the street protests of the morning's assembly gherao straight into the legislative chamber, keeping maximum pressure on the Vishnu Deo Sai government through every available platform until the session's final gavel.

Chhattisgarh Assembly Clears ₹14,655 Crore: Roads Get the Lion's Share, Health and Skills Follow

In a significant legislative move during the ongoing budget session, the Chhattisgarh Assembly approved demands for grants totalling more than ₹14,655.74 crore for the financial year 2026-27, covering key allocations for Public Health Engineering, Urban Administration and Development, Public Works covering roads, bridges, and buildings, and Sports and Youth Welfare. Military.com

The approvals, passed on March 9, 2026, mark a decisive step in Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai's government translating its ambitious ₹1.72 lakh crore SANKALP Budget into ground-level action. Chhattisgarh is also celebrating its silver jubilee as a state this year — and the government is clearly using that milestone as a political and developmental launch pad.

Roads First: ₹9,451 Crore to Fix Chhattisgarh's Infrastructure Spine

The single largest allocation in the demand grants goes to physical infrastructure — and rightly so, given how much of Chhattisgarh's rural economy depends on road connectivity.

For Public Works, ₹9,451 crore is earmarked for constructing and repairing roads, bridges, and buildings, with priority given to flyovers in Raipur and divisional headquarters to ease traffic and reduce accidents, and ₹51 crore specifically designated for road safety improvements. Military.com

This is not just a number on paper. Chhattisgarh has long struggled with road connectivity in its tribal and forested belts — and for districts like Bastar, Dantewada, and Sukma, roads are not a convenience, they are a lifeline connecting villages to markets, hospitals, and schools.

The Bastar region alone has received ₹1,109 crore for roads and bridges under the Niyad Nella Nar Yojana Zee News — a targeted intervention for one of India's most geographically and socially complex regions.

Water for Nine Lakh Families: The Public Health Engineering Push

For 2026-27, ₹3,000 crore has been allocated to provide tap water to nearly nine lakh families and complete pending schemes, plus ₹50 crore for operation and maintenance. An additional ₹260 crore targets 44 group water supply schemes under NABARD in low-groundwater rural areas, ₹20 crore for state-funded group scheme maintenance, ₹30 crore for urban project loans, and specific provisions including ₹2 crore for the Sirri scheme in Dhamtari and ₹10 crore for reservoir-based supply to villages. Military.com

This level of granularity — right down to a named scheme in Dhamtari district — suggests that unlike previous budget cycles, this allocation has been designed with implementation specificity rather than broad headline figures.

Health, Skill Development, and Urban Transformation

The SANKALP Budget's approach to human development is structured around three interlocking pillars: healthcare access, skill-building for youth, and urban quality of life.

On healthcare, ₹1,500 crore has been allocated for the Shahid Vir Narayan Singh Ayushman Swasthya Yojana Bloomberg — a state-level health coverage scheme that complements the national Ayushman Bharat programme, with a particular focus on tribal and below-poverty-line populations.

On skill development, new missions including an AI Mission, Nipun Mission, and Sports Excellence Mission have been introduced to drive innovation, skill building, and competitiveness among the state's youth. Windward These are not standalone schemes — they connect directly to the state's ambition of attracting investment in sectors like semiconductors, IT, artificial intelligence, and pharmaceuticals.

For urban development, two new schemes were announced: ₹100 crore for underground electrification and ₹200 crore for Adarsh Shahar Samriddhi Yojana Military.com — both aimed at modernising Chhattisgarh's rapidly growing tier-2 cities.

Deputy CM Arun Sao's Message: Budgets With a Theme, Not Just Numbers

Responding to the House debate, Deputy Chief Minister Arun Sao framed the government's approach in deliberate terms. He highlighted the thematic progression of the BJP-led government's budgets — knowledge in the first year, speed in the second, and resolution — Sankalp — in the third. These efforts align with fulfilling public welfare aspirations and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promises from day one. Military.com

Sao also used the occasion to draw a sharp political contrast. He said the absence of the opposition Congress from discussions reflects their lack of concern for the state's development, adding that history shows Congress governments did nothing significant for Chhattisgarh. NPR

The Congress boycott of the session — on a day when significant spending decisions affecting millions of citizens were being finalised — does raise legitimate questions about opposition priorities, regardless of one's political leanings.

A Senior BJP MLA Asks the Hard Questions

In a rare display of intra-party accountability, senior BJP MLA Ajay Chandrakar used the assembly discussions to corner his own government, alleging shortcomings in various sectors and demanding rectification. He also called for a stronger 'Made in Chhattisgarh' push, warning that Vision 2047 would remain aspirational unless skill development and industrial policies translate into actual jobs for local youth. NPR

Chandrakar's intervention is notable because it names the critical gap between policy ambition and ground-level delivery — and coming from within the ruling party, it carries more weight than opposition criticism typically does.

Silver Jubilee, Big Vision: What the Numbers Must Deliver

The budget is framed around SANKALP, which builds upon the pillars of GYAN — Poor, Youth, Farmers, Women — and GATI — Governance, Infrastructure, Technology, Industry — with an overarching goal of inclusive development that benefits all sections of society, especially women, farmers, youth, tribal communities, and marginalised groups. Windward

The state is targeting GSDP growth of 8.11% at constant prices to reach ₹3,58,293 crore, with nominal GSDP estimated to grow at 11.57% to reach approximately ₹6.31 lakh crore. Bloomberg These are ambitious targets — achievable if the infrastructure, health, and skill spending translates into real economic activity, and not merely into completed construction projects.

The Bottom Line

Chhattisgarh's assembly has approved a substantial, well-structured package of spending for 2026-27 — with roads getting the biggest slice, water supply coming second, and health and skill development rounding out a budget that, at least on paper, addresses the state's core development needs.

The proof will be in implementation. Roads must actually get built and maintained. Nine lakh families must actually get tap water. And the AI and skills missions must create the jobs that BJP MLA Chandrakar warned about — or Vision 2047 will remain exactly that: a vision.

Chhattisgarh's silver jubilee is a moment of pride. Its citizens deserve a government that matches pride with performance.