Hyderabad: AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday criticised the Maharashtra government's decision to form a committee to explore legal aspects of a new law against forced conversions and 'love jihad.'
The state government seems to have no other work except investigating interfaith marriages as it has now set up a panel to make a law against 'love jihad', he said in a post on social media platform X.
Maharashtra government seems to have no other work except investigating interfaith marriages. It has now set up a panel to make a law against " love jihad." even the modi government has said there's no definition of love jihad, and many investigation agencies have debunked this… pic.twitter.com/K723xY0scj
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) February 17, 2025
Even the Modi government has said there is no definition of love jihad and many investigation agencies have debunked the conspiracy theory, he said. The BNS already criminalises any person promising to marry after hiding one's religious identity.
Forced religious conversion is also a crime, he said. "This is just an attempt to create an "Uncle Sarkar". The government interferes in who you marry, what you eat, which language you speak, where you live, and what religion you believe in," Owaisi said.
Wondering what happens to the right to privacy, the Hyderabad MP asserted that it is a fundamental right for everyone to choose their religion and spouse.
The Maharashtra government has issued a Government Resolution (GR) stating that a committee headed by the state director general of police (DGP) will suggest steps to tackle the complaints of "love jihad" and forced conversions. It will also look at legal aspects and the laws framed in other states and recommend legislation to prevent such instances.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said there was nothing wrong with interfaith marriages, but steps need to be taken against matrimonial alliances through fraud and false identity.
Fadnavis said the Supreme Court and Kerala High Court have made observations about the reality of "love jihad". "Love jihad" is a term used by right-wing activists and outfits to allege a conspiracy by Muslim men to convert Hindu women to Islam through marriage.
