VHP reiterates objection to Love Jihad 'crime' as Digvijaya Singh questions rationale

A day after Congress MP Digvijaya Singh questioned the need for anti-Love Jihad laws based on RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's 'DNA' remark, VHP vehemently disagreed. 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. Taking this logic further, Singh contended that it was not necessary to crack down on religious conversions if there is no difference between Hindus and Muslims. Speaking to the media on Thursday, VHP working president Alok Kumar stressed that its stance vis-à-vis Love Jihad will not change. 

"Such misunderstandings won't work. The problem with Love Jihad is marriage via deception. The boy hides that he is a Muslim. Even Islam does not teach that one should marry by keeping the woman in the dark. We will always have objections to this crime," VHP chief Alok Kumar claimed. 

Earlier, Singh had stirred controversy by terming Bhagwat and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi "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. Urging the RSS supremo to preach the "unity" message to BJP and governments ruled by the saffron party, the Congress leader sought the resignation of PM Modi and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath.

BJP's anti-Love Jihad push

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.