MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena on Tuesday he said ‘Love Jihad’ must be legally defined first, and BJP Leaders must come out of the “illusion” “that they can disturb the Maharashtra Government insisting on the issue.
Without giving any names, an editorial in Sena spokesman ‘Saamana’ said that the BJP Minister of State for Internal Affairs earlier this year said in Parliament that the concept of ‘Love Jihad’ has no place in law and So far no central agency case has been reported in this regard.
“Therefore, the legal definition of ‘Love Jihad’ must be decided first,” the editorial said.
Referring to the short-lived government of the BJP-NCP formed in Maharashtra a year ago when Devendra Fadnavis Y Ajit pawar sworn in as prime minister and deputy CM, respectively, in a sunrise ceremony at Raj Bhavan, the editorial called it “love jihad.”
That government collapsed within 80 hours of its formation. Later, Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress came together and formed the government of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
Some BJP-ruled states have announced plans to prevent the so-called ‘love jihad’, a term coined by Hindutva activists to describe an alleged conspiracy to convert Hindu women to Islam by marrying them.
Fadnavis had said last week that “love Jihad” incidents were taking place in the country and therefore laws to curb the practice were justified.
“BJP leaders should come out of the illusion that they can upset the Maharashtra government by insisting on the issue of ‘love jihad’,” the editorial said.
Hindutva needs to be protected at all levels and “not only when it comes to marriages and elections,” he said and also proposed incorporating the Uniform Civil Code.
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