Mumbai: The Shiv Sena said Tuesday that ‘Love Jihad’ needs to be first defined legally. It stated that BJP leaders should come out of the ‘illusion’ that they can trouble the Maharashtra government by harping on the ‘Love Jihad’ issue.
An editorial in Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ said BJP’s Minister of State for Home Affairs earlier this year said in Parliament that the concept of ‘Love Jihad’ has no place in law. The minister also said no case has been reported by central agencies in this connection.
“Hence, the legal definition of ‘Love Jihad’ needs to be decided first,” the editorial said.
In the process the editorial took a jibe at the short-lived BJP-NCP government formed in Maharashtra. It happened a year ago when Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar took oath as chief minister and deputy chief minister. The editorial termed the incident as ‘Love Jihad’.
That government collapsed within 80 hours of its formation. Later, the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress came together and formed the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
Some BJP-ruled states have announced plans to prevent the so-called ‘Love Jihad’. It is a term coined by Hindutva activists to describe an alleged conspiracy to convert Hindu women to Islam by marrying them.
Fadnavis had last week said that incidents of ‘Love Jihad’ were taking place in India. Therefore, laws to curb the practice were justified.
“BJP leaders should come out of the illusion that they can trouble the Maharashtra government by harping on ‘Love Jihad’,” the editorial said.
Hindutva needs to be protected at all levels and ‘not just when it comes to marriages and elections’, the editorial also said.
