Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday said the BJP plans to implement a law against "love jihad" in Assam but added that the party is against jihad and not love.
Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, the BJP leader said, "We aren't against love, we're against 'jihad'. One should not love by betraying, deceiving, changing names or unscrupulous ways. We (Madhya Pradesh) made Freedom to Religion Bill 2020. The party has said a similar law will be implemented in the state (Assam)."
Earlier in December last year, Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill 2020 has been approved by the cabinet in a special meeting chaired by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
"We won't allow forced conversions in Madhya Pradesh. Under the new bill, anyone who does it will face a jail term of up to 10 yrs and minimum of Rs 50,000 fine. Many incidents came to light where minor girls were converted, married and made to contest Panchayat polls," Shivraj Singh Chouhan had said.
"Under the new Bill, forcing religious conversion on someone will attract one to five years of imprisonment and a minimum Rs 25,000 fine," said Narottam Mishra, State Minister.
"Under the new MP Freedom of Religion Bill 2020, forced conversion of a minor, woman or a person from Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, would be punishable with a minimum jail term of 2-10 years with a minimum penalty of Rs 50,000," he added.
However, the Union Home Ministry on February 4 this year clarified that the term 'love jihad' is not defined under the existing laws and no such case has been reported so far. No such case was reported by any of the central agencies yet.
However, two cases from Kerala involving inter-faith marriages have been investigated by the National Investigation Agency, according to the Home Ministry.
( With inputs from ANI )
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