Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Saturday announced that his government would introduce the death penalty for the forced religious conversion of girls, reported The Hindu.

“The government is very strict against those who rape innocent daughters,” the Bharatiya Janata Party leader said at a government event in Bhopal to mark International Women’s Day. “A provision for the death penalty has been made in this regard as our government is not going to spare those who rape girls by force or by luring.”

Yadav added that a fresh provision for capital punishment would be introduced under the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act “for those who religiously convert [girls]”.

The Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021, prohibits unlawful religious conversions through misrepresentation, force, coercion or fraudulent means. It prescribes up to 10 years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 50,000 for those found guilty of forcing religious conversions.

The BJP often uses the term “love jihad” to describe forced religious conversions. This is a Hindutva conspiracy theory that Muslim men are plotting to marry Hindu women merely so that they can force them to convert to Islam.

Later in the evening, the state government said in a statement: “Chief Minister Dr. Yadav said that the government will take the strictest steps against those who misbehave with girls, women and daughters. The culprits will be given the death penalty. No culprit will be spared under any circumstances. Religious Freedom Act is in force in Madhya Pradesh to take strict action against those who forcefully or by luring people to marry or convert their religion.”

The chief minister later posted on X that his government was committed to the protection and self-respect of “daughters”.

“After [the provision for] death penalty for those who rape [our] daughters, now provision for capital punishment will also be made in Madhya Pradesh for those who convert daughters,” he said.

Congress leader Arif Masood criticised Yadav’s announcement, urging him to first define “forced conversion”.

“First, the chief minister should clarify what forced conversion means,” Masood told ANI. “Also, there are still missing girls in Bhopal. Recently, a girl from Itkhedi went missing, and her family has been in distress for the past three days. The CM talks about strict action, but he has yet to locate her or the accused. If he takes action in such matters, we will welcome the decision, but otherwise, these are just announcements.”

State Congress president Jitu Patwari also criticised the state government, alleging that about four lakh women in Madhya Pradesh have “disappeared” over the past five to six years.

“One hundred women are raped in the state every day out of which only 20 report the incidents,” he claimed. “Eighty daughters don’t even report it.”

During the event in Bhopal, Yadav digitally transferred Rs 1,552 crore to more than 1.27 crore beneficiaries under the Ladli Behna Yojana, a financial assistance scheme for women. He also transferred Rs 55.95 crore to over 26 lakh eligible beneficiaries under the LPG Cylinder Refill Scheme, which provides a Rs 450 monthly subsidy per cylinder.

Patwari demanded that the Ladli Behna payments be raised to Rs 3,000 per month, as promised by the ruling BJP in its 2023 Assembly election manifesto.