'Love and Jihad don't go hand in hand': TMC's Nusrat Jahan upholds personal choice

Amid the uproar over 'love jihad', Trinamool Congress (TMC) Member of Parliament (MP) Nusrat Jaghn during a press conference on Monday said that 'love and jihad don't go hand in hand'. Stating that people only come up with such topics just before elections, the TMC MP said that Love is very personal and it is one's personal choice who they want to be with. The actor-turned-politician had herself married a person of another religion, businessman Nikhil Jain last year. 

Nusrat Jahan said, "Love is very personal. Love and jihad don't go hand-in-hand. Just before polls, people come up with topics like this. It is a personal choice who you want to be with. Be in love and start falling in love with each other. Don't make religion a political tool."

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Law against Love Jihad?

On November 20, the Home Department of Uttar Pradesh government announced that a strict law against 'love jihad' will be soon brought in the state. The state government department also informed that a proposal for enacting strict laws against it has been sent to the Department of Law. This announcement by the Uttar Pradesh government came after BJP-ruled states of Madhya Pradesh and Haryana announced they will enact laws against 'love jihad'. The UP govt will hold a meeting on Love Jihad on Tuesday. 

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Recently, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij after a discussion with senior officials informed that a dedicated committee will be set up to draft a strict law against 'love jihad'. The Home Minister also said that Haryana will also study the laws formed by the other states in this regard. The statement issued by the UP government said, 'with the enactment of this law, strict action will be taken against any person who is found indulging in religious conversion by pressuring, tempting someone or is involved in any kind of conspiracy or tried to do so in the name of love.' 

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Earlier this month, Anil Vij had informed the Haryana Assembly that the state is planning to enforce the law against 'love jihad' and had also sought information from Himachal Pradesh as it had passed a bill on the issue. The Himachal Pradesh Assembly had last year passed a bill against conversion by force, inducement or through marriages solemnised for the "sole purpose" of adopting a new religion.

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