Karnataka BJP speaks in two voices on law against 'Love Jihad'

BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel on Wednesday asserted that a stringent law against ‘Love Jihad’ will be enacted even as Law Minister JC Madhuswamy said there is no such plan.

With an apparent disconnect between the party and the government, there is no clarity on whether a Bill against Love Jihad will be tabled in the winter session of the legislature starting December 7.

Speaking to reporters in Hoskote on the outskirts of Bengaluru, Kateel said the law will be enacted against ‘Love Jihad’, a moniker for religious conversions for marriage.

“The BJP government in Karnataka is going to take strict action against Love Jihad. Indiscriminate action is inevitable on this front,” he said. Kateel also said that a law prohibiting cow slaughter will be introduced.

Kateel’s statement came a day after Madhuswamy said the government has no plan on tabling a bill against ‘Love Jihad’.

“No decision has been taken at the government’s level,” Madhuswamy told reporters in Chikmagalur on Tuesday.

“Being the chairman of the scrutiny committee, no such proposal has come before me. What else should I discuss when we aren’t going to bring any such law?” he said.

Earlier this month, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa had announced his intent to ban religious conversions in the name of marriage.