JAIPUR: Chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday slammed BJP over ‘love jihad’ and accused the ruling party at the Centre of “manufacturing the word to divide the nation” and to “disturb communal harmony”.
Gehlot’s comment comes after some BJP-ruled states announced plans for laws against ‘love jihad’, which they allege is a conspiracy of Muslim men marrying Hindu women to convert them.
BJP governments in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh have said they were considering enacting laws to curb such marriages.
A vocal critic of the saffron party, Gehlot also accused the BJP of violating the Constitution and citizen’s personal liberty in choice of marital partners. In a series of tweets posted on Friday morning, he also accused the centre of “creating an environment where consenting adults (are at) the mercy of state power”.
“‘Love jihad’ is a word manufactured by the BJP to divide the nation and disturb communal harmony. Marriage is a matter of personal liberty... bringing a law to curb it is completely unconstitutional and will not stand in any court of law. ‘Jihad’ has no place in love,” he said.
“They are creating an environment in the nation where consenting adults would be at the mercy of state power. Marriage is a personal decision and they are putting curbs on it, which is like snatching away personal liberty,” the chief minister added.
Gehlot described calls against ‘love jihad’ as a “ploy to disrupt communal harmony, fuel social conflict and disregard constitutional provisions...”.
‘Love jihad’ is a term coined by right-wing groups to target relationships between Muslim men and Hindu women, which, they allege, is a trick used by Muslims to forcibly convert Hindu women. However, relationships between Hindu men and Muslim women are usually ignored.