Elections aren’t a spectator sport, they are lifelines to our democracy. It is our duty as a news organisation to help you make an informed decision through factual reports, ground investigations and hard interviews. Join us in this mission.
Since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rose to power in Karnataka in July 2019, it has brought in several laws in the state that have been fiercely contested and debated by the Opposition. Activists in the state have argued that several of the laws were passed without due consultation, through ordinances, a route meant for emergencies. TNM examines the key laws introduced by the BJP government in Karnataka in the last four years.
The BS Yediyurappa-led BJP government in Karnataka enacted The Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act in January 2021, effectively making it illegal to transport, slaughter, trade almost all cattle (cows, bulls, oxen) in the state. The exceptions in the act are only for buffaloes above the age of 13 and terminally ill cattle.
Those affected by the legislation were small farmers in rural areas as well as leather workers and people involved in the meat export industry, a profession largely occupied by Dalits and Muslims. In particular, activists in the state have said that the beef trade has changed hands and moved away from small scale businesses to large scale non-Muslim export businesses.
The law was criticised for protecting ‘good samaritans’ or persons who act in good faith and inform the police about suspected cattle transport. The legislation was followed by a series of incidents in which Muslim cattle transporters were assaulted by members of Hindutva groups in the state like here, here and here.
The law was brought into focus when Hindutva extremist Puneet Kerehalli assaulted and allegedly killed a Muslim cattle transporter Idrees Pasha in Sathanur in Ramanagara in April 2023. Following the incident, other incidents of Puneet's violent and extrajudicial attacks against cattle traders came to light, including an incident in Electronic City near Bengaluru in which Puneet used a stun gun and attempted to extort Rs 1 lakh from cattle transporters.
In June 2020, the Yediyurappa-led BJP government made major amendments to the Karnataka Land Reforms Act to allow non-agriculturists to purchase agricultural land and removed the cap on income from non-agricultural sources to do so.
The amendments to the limits began in 2015 when the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government increased the maximum income of a buyer of agricultural land from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 25 lakh. Then the Yediyurappa-led BJP government removed the limit altogether.
Previously, non-agriculturalists could not purchase agricultural property, though there were some exceptions, such as educational and religious institutions, companies and cooperative societies. This provision was also amended to allow non-agriculturalists to purchase land.
While the state government insisted that the amendments are in favour of farmers, protests were held during the winter session of the Karnataka Assembly in 2020 agitating against the changes. Activists have warned that the changes in the law can potentially have serious implications on food security in Karnataka. In addition, amendments to the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act means traders are no longer restricted to buying from APMCs. This, activists say, will have an adverse effect on farmers in the state who sell their produce in APMCs.
The BJP government in Karnataka passed the contentious anti-conversion bill in the state Legislative Council in September 2022. Critics considered the new law's lofty title to be ironic and argued that it restricted a person's 'freedom of religion' rather than protecting it. The new law prescribes imprisonment of three to five years along with heavy fines in case of conversion due to “force, undue influence, coercion, allurement, or by any fraudulent means,” or “by a promise of marriage.” According to its provisions, any person who is a "victim" of attempts of "forced conversion," his or her relatives, or even an acquaintance, can file a complaint.
A similar amendment to the anti-conversion law in Gujarat in 2021 had criminalised conversion after marriage. It had said that no person shall convert or attempt to convert “by marriage or by getting a person married or by aiding a person to get married.” The Gujarat High Court had stayed the provision, stating that such a provision presumes marriage to be a medium for the purpose of unlawful conversion. It also put the burden of proof on the parties entering into an interfaith marriage to prove that the marriage was not on account of any fraud, allurement or coercion. The 2022 Karnataka law includes these provisions that were stayed by the Gujarat High Court for violating an individual’s fundamental rights.
The offence is considered so serious that it does not allow for release on bail. Anyone wanting to change religion will have to file a declaration before designated government authorities at least 30 days in advance, citing the reasons for the decision.
Before the introduction of the new law, Christian prayer meetings were attacked by members of Hindutva groups in several parts of the state. BJP MLA Goolihatti Shekhar from Chitradurga district alleged that his mother had been forcibly converted to Christianity. However, a survey by a government official investigating the MLA's claims found that all the families that converted to Christianity denied claims of inducement or force.
The government official who conducted the survey – Y Thippeswamy, tehsildar of Hosadurga in Chitradurga – was transferred following the publication of the report. BJP leaders including Goolihatti Shekhar continued to raise the allegations of 'mass conversions' despite the government probe punching holes in their claims.
The law was passed in the state Legislative Council in September 2022 despite fierce opposition from Christian groups and Opposition leaders. A report from December 2022 noted that there were nine cases related to the law in the first seven months after it was passed in the legislative assembly.
In March this year, the Karnataka government amended the Factories Act of 1948 to extend working hours to 12 hours a day, while keeping the maximum weekly work hours at 48.
The Factories (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2023 was passed without a debate in the Legislative Assembly but was opposed by the Congress, JDS, and even a member of the BJP, in the Legislative Council, where the law was passed amid a walk out.
The amended law allows overtime to extend from 75 hours in three months to 145 hours and also allows women to work night shifts with adequate security.
A report by Financial Times stated that lobbying by Apple and its manufacturing partner Foxconn was crucial to the changes in the labour law since it means two-shift production can take place in India, similar to the two companies’ practices in China, its main manufacturing hub.
The new legislation is aimed at encouraging more international firms to establish manufacturing bases in Karnataka. However, previous labour unrest at the Wistron facility in Kolar had revealed that violations of labour law regulations had driven employees to strike.
A report by the civil rights organisation Bahutva Karnataka noted, "The bill was passed without any consultation with workers, women’s groups, opposition parties, trade unions or any civil society organisation. BJP MLC and former MP Ayyannur Manjunath walked out of the Assembly calling it ‘anti-labour’.”