Decision on 'love jihad' law in Karnataka soon: CM B S Yediyurappa

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Friday said he was “not bothered” about what other states would do against ‘love jihad’, but that he was determined to “put an end” to religious conversions in the name of marriage.

“I have already discussed this with senior officers. I want to ban that in Karnataka. Whether other states have taken a decision or not, I am not bothered. But, in my state I want to take a decision as early as possible,” Yediyurappa told reporters, adding that a call would be taken in two-three days after discussions with legal experts.

Karnataka wants a law against religious conversion for the sake of marriage based on a recent Allahabad High Court order. Three other BJP-ruled states have promised a similar law.

The Opposition Congress targeted the BJP government on this issue calling it a “frivolous attempt to divert public attention” from administrative and policy failures.

Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah accused the BJP of misleading people by wrongly interpreting the Allahabad HC judgement. “The court only says that conversion for the sake of inter-religious marriage is wrong, but it ‘does not’ say that inter-religious marriage itself is wrong,” he tweeted.

The BJP wants to ignite communal flares for its political gain, he said, noting that ‘love jihad’ was not defined in any legal document, a fact accepted in the Parliament by BJP’s own Minister of State for Home Affairs. “Then, based on what will Yediyurappa enact a law?” he said, adding that it was unfortunate that he was taking inspiration from his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath.