A law against Love Jihad in Maharashtra in the making says Devendra Fadnavis

New Delhi, Dec 23: The Maharashtra government has announced that it would study bills and laws of other states which relate to Love Jihad and then take a decision.

Maharashtra's deputy chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis said that such cases are happening across the country and some states have made stringent laws to curb the menace. Maharashtra too is ready to enact a law on the same lines and ensure long-term protection of women, he added.

Speaking about the issue, Fadnavis pointed out that there have been 40 morchas in the recent past demanding a law against Love Jihad.

The comments came in the backdrop of a youth being beaten up in Madhya Pradesh after being accused of Love Jihad.

In a typical case of Love Jihad, Muslim men target Hindu and Christian women for conversion by means of luring with wealth, seduction and lying about love, deception, kidnapping and marriage. The matter was first reported in Kerala and the National Investigation Agency is seized of similar matters.

For instance the Islamic State case from Kerala in which many left the state to join the outfit in Afghanistan, it was found that many had been converted to Islam. In some of these cases, it was found that the Hindu and Christian girls had been lured by the Muslim youth by deceit.

Not just the Hindu community, but the Christians too have flagged concerns about Love Jihad. The Kerala Bishops Council had reported that nearly 4,500 girls in Kerala had been a target of Love Jihad. The Hindu Janajagruti Samithi has said that 30,000 Hindu girls had been converted to Islam in Karnataka alone.

The issue got further confirmation when Congress leader Oomen Chandy speaking in the assembly in the capacity of Kerala chief minister said that 2,667 young women had been converted to Islam since 2006 of which 2,195 were Hindus and 492 Christians.

In Kerala it was said that the Popular Front of India and the Campus Front of India which have been banned this year were largely involved in these cases.