The issue of ‘love jihad’ rocked the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Friday following claims from state’s Women and Child Development Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha that over one-lakh cases have been witnessed in the state.
The Shiv Sena-BJP government led by CM Eknath Shinde is committed to prevent Shraddha Walkar-type incidents, Lodha had said a couple of days ago. However, on Friday, the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi raised the issue questioning the claim.
MLAs Jitendra Awhad (NCP) and Abu Asim Azmi (SP) said that the figure was false. “The statement by the minister is factually incorrect as there have been 3,000 cases of inter-faith marriages,” Awhad said.
Azmi demanded that the minister should tender an apology.
BJP MLA Ashish Shelar called for a discussion on the issue.
Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Gulabrao Patil of Shiv Sena said that the parents know the pain of the issue.
It may be mentioned, in December 2022, the government had decided to form a 13-member panel — ‘Inter-caste and Interfaith marriage-family coordination committee’ — that would look into the grievances filed by family members of couples locked in interfaith marriages. However, the government has clarified that it is not against inter-caste and inter-faith marriages, but set up the panel to specifically help those women who had been cut-off from their families in an attempt to bring them together.
Published 10 March 2023, 12:44 IST