The editorial took a dig at the short-lived BJP-NCP government formed in Maharashtra a year ago when Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar took oath as chief minister and Dy CM, respectively, in a ceremony held at dawn in Raj Bhavan by terming it as ‘love jihad’
Clarion India
MUBAI – The Shiv Sena on Tuesday said ‘Love Jihad’ needs to be first defined legally and slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party saying that their leaders can not trouble the Maharashtra government by harping on the controversial issue.
In an editorial published in its mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, the Sena said BJP’s Minister of State for Home Affairs earlier this year had said in Parliament that the concept of ‘Love Jihad’ had no place in law and till now 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 was quoted by PTI as saying.
The editorial took a dig at the short-lived BJP-NCP government formed in Maharashtra a year ago when Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar took oath as chief minister and Dy CM, respectively, in a ceremony held at dawn in Raj Bhavan by terming it as ‘love jihad’.
The Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress came together and formed the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government after collapsing Ajit Pawar-Fadnavis government with 80 hours.
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 last week said that incidents of ‘love Jihad’ 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 trouble the Maharashtra government by harping on the issue of ‘love jihad’,” the editorial said.
Hindutva needs to be protected at all levels and “not just when it comes to marriages and elections”, it said and also pitched for bringing in the Uniform Civil Code.
