Indore: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Indresh Kumar has urged the Central government and all state governments to frame a law against ‘love jihad’, alleging that it crushes the fundamental rights of the women.
“Love jihad is a symbol that women can be tortured. A man can cheat a woman by showing his false identity and he can also pressurise her to change religion. Love jihad means that if she is not ready for marriage, he can force her and even shoot her. These things are against the Constitution. It is a fundamental need of the country to check this,” Kumar told reporters here.
“The country gives rights to every citizen right to live with respect. ‘Love jihad’ crushes all those rights. Those governments which are opposing the law against ‘love jihad’ means they support that fundamental rights should be crushed. I urge all state governments and the Central government to bring a law against ‘love jihad’,” he said.
Commenting on former vice president Hamid Ansari’s reported remark that society became a victim of two pandemics — religiosity and strident nationalism before COVID-19, the RSS leader said: “Those talking about it are the ones who divided people on the lines of caste and religion. If Hamid Ansari looks into his own conduct, he will find that its seeds were sowed during his time.”
The issue of ‘love jihad’ has been on the boil for the past few weeks after the death of a 21-year-old college student, who was shot point-blank outside her college allegedly by a stalker and his friend in Ballabgarh in October.
Earlier, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra had said that the state government will bring a bill against ‘love jihad’ in the next Assembly session that will have the provision of five years of rigorous imprisonment.
“One word ‘love jihad’ is doing rounds. We are making preparations to introduce the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill, 2020 in Assembly. It will have provision for five years of rigorous imprisonment against those involved in forceful religious conversion and marriage by lure or fraud,” Mishra had said.
“We are also proposing that such crimes be declared a cognisable and non-bailable offence. There will be provision to declare marriages taking place forcefully, out of fraud or by tempting someone, for religious conversion, null and void,” he said.
Haryana and Uttar Pradesh governments are also mulling laws against ‘love jihad’.