The Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who has gone to attend the 41st Session of Universal Periodic Review (UPR),in United Nation Human Rights, Geneva, said that the activities of human rights defenders in India should be in conformity with the law of the land.
The SGI during his speech at UN said that the Civil society organisations can operate in India, but only as per law
Talking about India , the SGI said that in India we appreciate the roles played by human rights defenders, civil society groups, and journalists in a democratic polity.
The SGI also added that as a country, we Indians have always condemned any attack against human rights defenders, activists, journalists and their family members.
As the Union Territory of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh is an integral part of Hindustan and shall always be an inalienable part of India. SGI said that after the constitutional changes and reorganization of the erstwhile State of Jammu & Kashmir, people realised its importance.
He further said that it is now the people of the state who have understood their potential . The new change has brought forth opportunities for all the people of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
The new laws of the land have given strength to everyone and specially the vulnerable lot.
The Solicitor General said that the Central laws have given access to free and compulsory education, non-discriminatory inheritance laws, protections against domestic violence, empowerment of women, decriminalisation of same sex relations and grant of rights to transgender persons,
Talking about the issue of minority, and freedom of religion, the SG said that
India is a land of multilingual, multi-ethnic and multi-religious society which celebrates diversity.”
SG Mehta also opined that terming the Freedom of Religion Acts passed by several states in India as anti-conversion laws was a misnomer.
Tushar Mehta said that in some states of India we have enacted the Freedom of Religion Act so that to ensure freedom of religion is guaranteed under the Constitution.
He added that with such legislations, conversion from one religion to another is restricted by the use of force, inducement, allurement or fraudulent means.
He said if we call this as anti-conversion laws, it would be a misnomer. The Supreme Court has also upheld the constitutional validity of States’ Freedom of Religion Acts.