Guwahati, July 6: Days after Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu promised a Christian gathering that his government would strike down the anti-conversion law before the next assembly elections, the BJP-led government in the state has taken a U-turn, saying there are no plans to repeal the law.

The change in stance came following a tweet by Ram Madhav, the BJP in-charge of Northeastern states. Madhav, while replying to a critical tweet by academic Makarand R Paranjape, said repealing the four-decade-old anti-conversion law is not even being considered.

"There is no truth in it. The CM has clearly stated that a wide ranging consultation about its efficacy will be undertaken, not its repeal. As far as I know, there is no such proposal to repeal the (1)978 Act," he tweeted.

As per the 2011 census, Christians form 30.26 per cent of the Arunachal population, followed by 29.04 per cent Hindus. Followers of the indigenous faith amount to nearly 26.2 per cent.

"He (Khandu) never said it will be repealed. We will examine it in the Cabinet, take it up for discussion in the Assembly, talk to all sections of the people of the state and then decide if it needs to be repealed," Bamang Felix, minister for parliamentary affairs, told HT.

The anti-conversion law bars the state populace to change their religions without taking approval from the administration. Locals of indigenous faith claim the 1978 Act is a 'safeguard' for them to save their culture and religion.

Despite the law, argues Nyishi Indigenous Faiths and Cultural Society (NIFCS) -- an organisation representing the Nyishi ethnic group, nearly 60 per cent of their tribe "have been converted to Christianity", in the past four decades.

As per the 2001 census, Christians made up 18.7 per cent. The numbers grew to 30.26 per cent despite the law regulating conversions being in place.

The Church and Christians have, however, called the law as one directed against the minorities. The issue was raised when Pema Khandu attended a ceremony organised by Arunachal Pradesh Catholic Association in Itanagar on June 28.

At the function, the Chief Minister had promised to repeal the act saying, "The law could undermine secularism and is probably targeted towards Christians." He further added that before the next assembly elections, law would be repealed as it could be "misused in future by irresponsible officers" to target the Christians.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 06, 2018 11:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).