A Gujarat Congress MLA has claimed a number of people from tribal communities who converted to Christianity years ago are now becoming IAS and IPS officers. Congress legislator Geniben Thakor, speaking at a mass marriage ceremony of couples from Valmiki community at Bhabhar village in Banaskantha district on Saturday, appealed to religious gurus working to save Hinduism to take “revolutionary steps” to prevent them from converting to other religions.

However, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA and Gujarat Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary, who was sharing dais with Thakor at the event, said tribals who embraced Christianity after being allured by a chance to become IAS, IPS officers later realised it was a false promise.

“People from tribal areas embraced Christianity years ago, and today they have become IAS, IPS, mamlatdar (revenue officer), and DDO (district development officers). Most of the tribals having government jobs in Gujarat are among those who converted to Christianity,” Thakor, the two-term MLA from Vav Assembly constituency, claimed at the event.

Even the Scheduled Caste community is getting attracted to Buddhism, she said.

“It is my appeal to religious gurus and leaders who work to save Hinduism that if we do not take revolutionary steps for these communities, then in the coming times, they will convert to other religions,” she said.

Thakor said if people from tribal and Dalit communities are provided protection and respect, then they will not think about converting to other religions.

“In order to save our religion, we will have to take the lead in offering social services to them,” she said. However, Chaudhary said certain people were lured towards religious conversion on the promise they their children become IAS officers.

“But those who converted to another religion found out that their sons did not become IAS, IPS officers,” he added.

In June 2021, the BJP government in the state passed the Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, which penalises forcible or fraudulent religious conversion through marriage.

It said that the 2021 amendment to the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act-2003 was meant to further prohibit and curb forced religious conversions.

A couple of months later, the Gujarat High Court stayed certain sections of the amended Act pending further hearing. The state government then moved the Supreme Court challenging the HC order.