Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday launched an attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claiming that the word 'Love Jihad' is manufactured by the party to divide the nation and disturb communal harmony.
Taking to microblogging website Twitter, Gehlot said that bringing a law to curb marriage is completely unconstitutional and will not stand in any court of law.
The remark comes days after the Madhya Pradesh government said that it will bring a law against 'Love Jihad' in the next session of the assembly that will provide for five years of rigorous imprisonment to the culprits.
"Love Jihad is a word manufactured by BJP to divide the Nation & disturb communal harmony. Marriage is a matter of personal liberty, bringing a law to curb it is completely unconstitutional & it will not stand in any court of law. Jihad has no place in Love," read a tweet from the Rajasthan CM.
In another tweet, Gehlot said that BJP is snatching away personal liberty of consenting adults.
"They are creating an environment in the nation where consenting adults would be at the mercy of state power. Marriage is a personal decision & they are putting curbs on it, which is like snatching away personal liberty," another tweet read.
"It seems a ploy to disrupt communal harmony, fuel social conflict & disregard constitutional provisions like the state not discriminating against citizens on any ground," he added in another tweet.
On Tuesday, MP home minister Narottam Mishra said that the state will introduce Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill, 2020 in Assembly. "We are making preparations to introduce Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill, 2020 in Assembly. It'll provide for 5 yrs of rigorous imprisonment. We're also proposing that such crimes be declared a cognizable & non-bailable offence," the minister said.
The law will have a provision to declare the marriages which have taken place forcefully out of fraud null and void. "There will be provision to declare marriages taking place forcefully, out of fraud or by tempting someone, for religious conversion, null and void. Those assisting in committing this crime will also be considered a party to the crime," Mishra informed.
This comes weeks after the Uttar Pradesh government announced that it will bring a law to deal with 'Love Jihad'. On October 31, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath that the state government will work to curb love jihad and bring a law.
In a recent judgement on a petition filed by a married couple, the Allahabad High Court has observed that conversion just for the purpose of marriage is unacceptable. Priyanshi alias Samreen and her partner had in their writ petition, sought directions to the police and the girl's father not to interfere in their married life.
