After Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh will be the third BJP-ruled state that is planning to bring strict law against 'love jihad', a slur politically used by right-wing activists to refer to the alleged campaign of Muslims forcing Hindu girls to convert in the veil of love.
Love Jihad took the center stage of the social media after MP Home Minister Narottam Mishra stated charges in cases of 'love jihad' in the state would be non-bailable. While speaking to reporters, Mr Mishra on Tuesday said, "We are making preparations to introduce Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill, 2020 in Assembly. It will provide for 5 years of rigorous imprisonment. We're also proposing that such crimes be declared a cognizable and non-bailable offense."
He further revealed that in the upcoming assembly session, the MP govt will bring a secular law to check the problem of 'love jihad.'
After this a social media user asked Bollywood actress Swara Bhasker why there is a need for a law of Love Jihad. The user wrote in his tweet, "Let us assume for a moment that Love Jihad is real & needs fixing. Why can't you prosecute using Section 366 (forced marriage), Section 415 (cheating), Section 340 (forcible confinement) & Section 383 (extortion)? Section 366 -> 10 years in prison. Why do you want a new law?"
On this Swara gave 6 reasons. The actress wrote, "To whip up a communal frenzy.. To have some more lies to spread during election campaigns..To criminalise young Muslim men..To control Hindu women and their sexuality.. To deepen fault lines between communities..To create false enemies & whip up mass hatred toward them.."
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