A delegation led by Archbishop of Bangalore Peter Machado met Kharge at his Bengaluru residence on Monday, September 14, and asked him to support action on what the Church describes as continuing concerns over the 2022 law. Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge was also present.
The delegation said provisions of the legislation raised concerns about constitutional freedoms, particularly the right to profess, practise and propagate religion. It asked the Congress leadership to take up repeal with the Karnataka government, which has been led by the party since 2023.
Kharge, who is also Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, heard the delegation’s representations and assured its members that the issues would be raised with state government leaders for consideration and appropriate action, according to a statement issued after the meeting.
Alongside repeal of the law, the delegation sought nomination of a Christian representative to the Karnataka Legislative Council, a separate 1 per cent reservation for Christians under the Backward Class category, and greater representation on government boards, corporations and other statutory or nominated bodies.
Machado said the community expected the state government to act on its earlier commitment to undo the legislation. He argued that the Congress now had the numbers in the Legislative Council needed to move such a measure and said repeal would help address concerns among minorities.
The Congress had opposed the law while in opposition and promised before the 2023 Assembly election to reverse measures of the previous BJP government that it regarded as discriminatory or unconstitutional. A draft repeal proposal was circulated after the party returned to power, but the statute has remained in force.
The law prohibits religious conversion through what it defines as misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or fraudulent means. It also sets out procedures and penalties connected with unlawful conversion. Supporters have defended the legislation as a safeguard against coercive or deceptive conversion, while Christian organisations and other critics have argued that its provisions can be misused against legitimate religious activity and voluntary changes of faith.
The Act also requires prior declarations in specified conversion cases and provides for scrutiny by district authorities, provisions that Church representatives have challenged as intrusive. The state government has not announced a fresh timetable for bringing a repeal bill before the legislature yet.
Official data placed before the Karnataka Legislative Council in March showed that 17 cases had been registered under the Act since 2023. Ten were registered in 2023, three in 2024 and four in 2025, with none recorded in the first part of 2026 at the time the figures were presented. Three cases had ended in closure reports, three were pending with police and the remaining matters were before courts.
The delegation also pressed its demand for a one per cent reservation, saying sections of the Christian community face socio-economic disadvantages and need better access to education, employment and government benefits. Its representatives sought a separate bracket within the Backward Class framework rather than reliance on the broader category under which Christians are currently included.
On political representation, the group said nomination of a Christian member to the Legislative Council would give the community a formal platform to raise concerns and participate in the legislative process. It also asked for what it described as adequate and meaningful participation in boards and corporations, including other government-appointed bodies.
The meeting brought together senior clergy and lay representatives. Besides Machado, the delegation included Mangalore Bishop Peter Paul, Mysore Bishop Francis Serrao, Jesuit priest Arun Lewis, who heads Ashirwad, and lay representatives Praveen Peter, Anthony Vikram and J. A. Kanthraj, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Bangalore.
