Gandhinagar, April 2 (TIWN) Â The Gujarat Assembly on Thursday passed a Bill to amend the 'Dharma Swatantrya' (Freedom of Religion) Act, 2003 which aims to combat forceful religious conversions, better known as 'Love Jihad', on the concluding day of the Budget session.

"Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2021 has been passed with a majority in Gujarat Vidhan Sabha," state Home Minister Pradipsinh Jadeja said on Thursday.  With the passing of the bill, Gujarat became the third state after Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh make a law against 'love jihad'. 

Earlier in February, the BJP-led the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Bill, 2021 was passed by the state Legislative Assembly by voice vote. 

Following it, another BJP-led government Madhya Pradesh assembly also passed the Freedom of Religion Bill 2021 in March this year.  The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on February 4 this year clarified that the term 'love jihad' is not defined under the existing laws and no such case has been reported so far. No such case was reported by any of the central agencies yet.