ITANAGAR, Jul 13: Chief Minister Pema Khandu has said his government will consider the views and suggestions of every stakeholder through wider consultations with regard to the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion (APFR) Act, 1978.
In the first of its consultations with the Indigenous Faith and Cultural Society of Arunachal Pradesh, the chief minister reiterated that the state government would stick to its secular principles and therefore consult with every stakeholder before taking any decision on the act.
“This is a people’s government and every decision taken will be in consultation with the people,” he said.
The CM said the APFR Act needs to be studied in detail to understand its implications, “which at the outset does not discriminate against any religion but actually safeguards the secular spirit of the Indian constitution.”
The CM’s statement comes barely two weeks after he had announced that the state government would repeal the act.
Meanwhile, the IFCSAP said in a press statement that “any entity who opposes the APFR Act and demands its repeal are the one who indulges in forceful conversions through fraudulent and coercive means by way of inducement, intimidation and false methodology.” (With CMO input)
