Congress harps on Mohan Bhagwat's 'DNA' remark; asks 'why are Love Jihad laws required?'

Continuing his tirade on RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's speech, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh took a swipe at the "DNA of all Indians is the same" remark. Speaking at the launch of the book 'The Meeting of Minds: A Bridging Initiative' on July 4, Bhagwat propagated that all fellow citizens have the same DNA for over 40,000 years as they have the same ancestors. Stressing on the virtue of being Indian first, he refuted the fear that Hindus will overpower the minorities. 

Taking this logic further, Singh questioned the need for cracking down on religious conversions through anti-Love Jihad laws if there is no difference between Hindus and Muslims. Speaking to the media in Sehore on Wednesday, "If the DNA of Hindus and Muslims is one, then why are the religious conversion laws required? What is the need for Love Jihad laws? Then, the DNA of Mohan Bhagwat and Owaisi is the same". 

A day earlier, he had stirred controversy by terming Bhagwat and the AIMIM chief "two sides of the same coin". Describing both of them as representatives of sections of Hindus and Muslims respectively, he added that both only aided each other. The Rajya Sabha MP also called upon the RSS supremo to preach the "unity" message to BJP and governments ruled by the saffron party. Moreover, he demanded the resignation of PM Modi and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath.

BJP's move to outlaw 'Love Jihad'

As per some organizations, 'Love Jihad' refers to inter-religious marriages where the woman converts to Islam either by force or guile in order to marry a Muslim man. In 2010, the then Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan had accused PFI and some other organizations of planning to turn the state into a Muslim-majority state by doling out money. In 2020, G Kishan Reddy told the Parliament that 'Love Jihad' is not defined under the current laws and that no such case has been reported by any of the Central agencies. 

So far, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have passed laws against forcible conversion through marriage. Moreover, all offences under these laws are cognizable and non-bailable with the guilty facing up to a jail term of 10 years. Other BJP-ruled states such as Haryana, Assam and Karnataka are also considering passage of similar legislation.