'Is it a crime to fall in love'

Is it a crime to fall in love? CPM member Jharna Das Baidya asked in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, in reference to the rise in the incidents of honour killing in the country.

Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, Jharna referred to a series of honour killings in the recent times and demanded strict action from the government. She said the government must come out with a law to deal with the issue.

Her remarks prompted an Opposition MP to quip “it is not honour killing, but dishonourable killing”, while Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said the entire House is concerned about the shocking increase in such incidents.

The 54-year-old MP from Tripura said she started hearing about honour killings only after coming to Delhi. “Won’t the government do anything? Will it continue? Love doesn’t have any caste or religion. Is it a crime to fall in love?” she said.

According to the latest figures, the number of honour killings has seen a whopping seven-fold increase from 28 in 2014 to 251 in 2015. Uttar Pradesh accounted for the majority of honour killings (168), followed by Gujarat (25) and Madhya Pradesh (14).