The Maharashtra government will study the “love jihad” laws made by other states and take a decision accordingly, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said. Speaking to reporters at the Maharashtra Legislative Complex here on Tuesday, Fadnavis said there was a “feeling” in the House regarding the Shraddha Walkar case that cases of “love jihad” were seen on a large scale in the state.
“Love Jihad” is a term often used by right-wing activists to claim that Muslim men want to lure Hindu women into religious conversion through marriage. “We have assured (the House) that various states have love jihad laws and we will study them. Based on this, our government will take appropriate decision so that no woman or girl suffers from any conspiracy,” said Fadnavis, who holds Home in his portfolio.
He told the gathering that there was a demand for a strict “love jihad” law. The state government is not against inter-faith marriages, Fadnavis said. “But over time it became clear that the design was part of the conspiracy. In some districts, such marriages take place in large numbers,” he said. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs Atul Bhatkhalkar and Ashish Shelar raised the issue of Shraddha Walkar’s killing in the House of Commons.
Speaking about the withdrawal of the harassment complaint she filed against her live-in partner Aaftab Poonawala with the Vasai police in November 2020, Bhatkhalkar said, “Was there political pressure on the police not to act when they received the complaint?” “When it happened during that time, (Amravati pharmacist Umesh) Kolhe was killed and the name of Tablighi Jamaat came up in the allegation today,” he said.
Legislator Shelar drew attention to the same problem. Poonawala allegedly killed Walkar in May this year at their apartment in Delhi. He allegedly chopped her body into several pieces and disposed of them for several weeks before he was arrested by the Delhi Police last month. Fadnavis said that an interfaith committee headed by the minister will monitor and maintain records of interfaith marriages, married couples and also their families.
“Shraddha Walkar’s father said we don’t understand where to go and we could have saved her if someone had facilitated a conversation with her. People do not know where to turn in such a situation and the panel is (there) for facilitation,” he told the House. Speaking to reporters at the state legislative complex, Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi said that Walkar’s case was not a matter of “love jihad” as it is now being painted.
“It was more of a social theme and a living relationship,” he added. “Anyone who is an adult can choose to live the way they want. People are being deceived by terming this incident as love jihad,” he said. Azmi claimed that the Interfaith Marriage Inspection Commission was created deliberately to divide Hindus and Muslims.
