Archbishop of Bangalore Peter Machado on Friday (October 30, 2026) urged the Congress government in Karnataka to fulfil its promise of repealing the state’s anti-conversion law. Speaking to the media in Bengaluru, Machado said that a meeting of minority communities, Dalit communities, and farmer communities was called to press their demands regarding the repeal of the anti-conversion law in the state.
The forum issued a press release on Thursday (October 29, 2026), identifying three priority areas requiring government intervention, including religious freedom, protection against communal hostility and fulfilment of electoral promises.
The official release read, “The forum called for a review of several measures introduced by the previous government, including the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, 2020, and the withdrawal of Category 2B reservation for Muslims through a government order dated March 27, 2023.”
They also pushed for stronger legal provisions and effective enforcement against alleged “hate speech, communal incitement and crimes targeting religious minorities and other vulnerable groups.” They want a bill to be introduced in the state on this issue.
The Archbishop said that before being elected to power in the state, the Congress Party had promised to withdraw the anti-conversion law in its election manifesto. He said that it has been around three years since the Congress Party formed government in the state and that it also has numbers in the State Assembly to repeal the law.
“Today we have called a press conference of the minority communities, the Dalit communities, the farmer communities, especially those that have been experiencing certain difficulties with the laws of the State. First of all, we Christians have come strongly asking the government to repeal the anti-conversion law that was passed in 2022,” Machado said.
“…it was passed by the previous government, and this government which was trying to get into power that time, they have put it in the manifesto that if they came to power, they would withdraw immediately the anti-conversion law as such…” he reminded the government.
Bengaluru, Karnataka: Archbishop of Bangalore Peter Machado says, "Today we have called a press conference of the minority communities, the Dalit communities, the farmer communities, especially those that have been experiencing certain difficulties with the laws of the State. First of all, we Christians have come strongly asking the government to repeal the anti-conversion law that was passed in 2022. And it was passed by the previous government, and this government which was trying to get into power that time, they have put it in the manifesto that if they came to power, they would withdraw immediately the anti-conversion law as such…"
— IANS (@ians_india) October 30, 2026
The Archbishop further disclosed that the Congress government had made promises to different communities, including the Muslim community, regarding the anti-cow slaughter bills. He alleged that “it doesn’t look to be very good on their part because Muslims and farmers are suffering because of it.”
He then claimed that ageing cattle needed to be taken care of and “if they cannot go to cowsheds….,” insinuating that slaughterhouses were the only other destination. “In some places, the government has done it. It’s okay,” he added.
Earlier, the All Karnataka United Christian Forum for Human Rights asked the Karnataka Government to repeal the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Act, 2022.
The Christians forum has demanded the repeal of the anti-conversion law, claiming that the “legislation places religious minorities, particularly Christians, under suspicion and restricts the constitutional right to freedom of conscience”. The forum argued that certain provisions under the Act could supposedly “discourage individuals from exercising their right to profess, practise and propagate religion, guaranteed under Article 25 of the Constitution.”
The anti-conversion law was implemented in the state by the previous BJP government with the objective of preventing and prohibiting unlawful religious conversions carried out through coercive, fraudulent, or manipulative means.
Last month, Machado took a Christian delegation to visit Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge at his Bengaluru home, where Kharge’s son and Karnataka home minister, Priyank Kharge, was also present. The delegation sought the abolition of the state’s anti-conversion law and a special 1% reservation for the community.
The demands presented by the delegation included greater involvement in government boards, corporations, and other statutory and nominated entities, increased political and administrative representation, and the nomination of a Christian representative to the Karnataka Legislative Council.
