If the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh has its way, inter-religious marriages involving religious conversions that are claimed and proven to be either forcible or through allurement— ‘commonly referred to as love jihad’—can soon be declared null and void.
The Madhya Pradesh BJP government will be introducing a Dharm Swatantya (Reglious Freedom) Bill in the next (winter) session of state assembly with stringent provisions on religious conversion for marriages including the above, Home Minister Narottam Mishra said on Tuesday.
The bill will have to be passed by the state assembly, where BJP is now in majority, and then get a nod from the governor of the state, to become an Act.
The proposed bill will also have provisions to make the offence cognizable and non-bailable, attracting a rigorous imprisonment of five years. Also, the co-accused in the cases of ‘conversions for marriage that are forced, by fraud or through allurement’ will be treated as main accused and will be awarded the same punishment.
There will be, however, a provision that the action will be only be initiated on the basis of a complaint of the person converted by fraud, allurement or force or their parents or siblings. The persons intending to undergo conversion or the persons/priests who will be involved in the conversion process will have to notify the district administration one month in advance of the proposed conversion, the home minister said.
While giving details of the provisions to be made in the proposed bill, the home minister said that there have been a number of cases of forcible conversions for marriage ‘that you people call as love jihad’ and therefore a decision to bring in stringent laws has been taken.
However, a look at records suggests that there have been no major cases of forcible conversions reported in the state in the recent times. The only controversial case reported in the recent past was that of alleged rape and blackmail of a minor Hindu girl by a Muslim man who reportedly posed as a Hindu to lure the girl. The accused, since arrested, was said to be a Congress leader and the BJP had then attacked the Congress on the issue in the bypoll-bound state.
The Congress has, meanwhile, termed the move of the BJP government as another attempt to divert from real issues. Party spokesman J.P. Dhanopia said that whenever the BJP does not have any real issue or work to show, they come up with such issues to keep the people engaged and their voters intact.
“We welcome the move if it is about forcible conversions or marriages, but then if the BJP is so worried about laws and rules and indeed wants to protect democracy, why doesn’t it bring a bill to disallow such legislators who resign their posts under allurement to contest elections in the same term?,” Dhanopia asked.
CM Chouhan followed Yogi’s suit
The intention to bring in stringent law against ‘love jihad’ in Madhya Pradesh was announced by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan himself earlier this month, right after the bypolls were conducted. His announcement came close on the heels of similar announcements made by the Uttar Pradesh and Haryana governments in the wake of certain cases reported in those states.
Chouhan had told the reporters, “No jihad will be allowed in the name of love. If anyone tries any such thing, they will be set right. And for this, legal provisions will be made.”
Political watchers feel that Chouhan and the BJP government in the state seem to want to adhere to more hardliner attitude after having ruled the state for more than 15 years now.
