The Kerala government is planning to introduce legislation to curb superstitious practices and evil rituals in the State, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala told the Assembly here on Wednesday.

The proposed Bill would be formulated on the lines of the Anti-Superstition Act in Maharashtra, he said while replying to a calling attention motion moved by K. Sivadasan Nair on the need to prevent the practice of piercing spears into the body parts of children as part of religious rituals. The draft of the Bill was under preparation and it was expected to be introduced in the House during the current session or the next session, he said.

In his reply, Mr. Chennithala stressed the need for wide ranging discussions to create awareness about the need to curb superstitious beliefs and evil practices in the name of religion. “Some practices are part of religious traditions. They can be regulated only after arriving at a consensus among various sections of society,” he said.

“Though the Anti-Superstition Bill was passed by the Maharashtra Assembly, it is yet to be implemented effectively because of opposition from several quarters. A social worker who had campaigned for the Bill was murdered,” he said.

Mr. Chennithala said the government would initiate steps to create consensus before introducing the Bill. “It is a complex issue that needs to be discussed at various levels,” he told the House.

Earlier, moving the motion, Mr. Nair said children were subjected to the cruel act of having spears inserted into their tongues and cheeks as part of temple rituals in several places. “No religious text prescribes such barbaric rituals and no god can be made happy by inflicting pain on small children. If we can ban evil practices such as sati and animal sacrifice and impose curbs on Thookkam, there is no reason why this cruelty should be spared,” he said. Mr. Nair urged the government to invoke the Social Justice Act to crack down on those subjecting children to cruel practices.

Discussions to be held to arrive at consensus: Chennithala