Himanta Sarma said that the purpose of this bill is to curb the propagation of Christianity in the state. (file)
The Assam government today introduced a bill in the Legislative Assembly that targets illegal medical practices in the state. The Assam Remedies (Prevention of Evil) Custom Bill, 2024 was introduced by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Piyush Hazarika on behalf of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Himanta Sarma said that the purpose of this bill is to curb the propagation of Christianity in the state. Addressing the media, he said, “We want to curb militancy in Assam. This Act, which we passed in the last cabinet meeting, will be an important milestone in that direction.”
The Bill seeks to criminalize “magical healing” practices and make it a cognizable and non-bailable offence. It aims to promote social awareness in the society and create healthy, science-based knowledge and a safe social environment to protect human health against evil and sinister practices that thrive on ignorance. The bill aims to eliminate unscientific treatment methods that have ulterior motives of exploiting innocent people.
According to Section 3 of the Bill, the government has the power to ban evil or magical treatment methods for the treatment of certain diseases and health disorders. Section 4 of the Bill empowers the government to ban misleading advertisements for such practices.
According to Section 5 of the Bill, the government can punish any act or promotion of such practices. According to Section 6, the punishment may extend to imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or a fine of Rs 50,000, or both. In case of repeated offences, the culprit can face jail term up to five years or a fine of Re 1. Lakh, or both.
