Karnataka home minister Araga Jnanendra on Monday said that the government would consider the demands for creating a new unit for tackling ‘love jihad’. The assurance comes after a delegation of Hindu organisations met Jnanendra at his official residence and submitted a memorandum.
The members of this delegation included Mohan Gowda, the state spokesperson for Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, Bhavya Gowda from Ranaragini, Nandini Nagaraj from Durga Sena and Shri Sundaresh and Shri. Amarnath from the Sri Ram Sena. They demanded that a special police should be formed to investigate ‘love jihad’ cases.
“Despite the implementation of the Prohibition of Conversion Act in the state, ‘Love Jihad’ has not yet stopped. Hence just like in Uttar Pradesh, an Anti-Love-Jihad task force should be appointed here as well,” read the memorandum.
A senior official from the home minister’s office confirmed that a meeting took place between the minister and the organisation representatives. “The minister has not assured setting up the unit but said he will consider the demand. He told the organisations that the anti-conversation bill (Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2022) is taking care of any forced conversations in the state,” said the official.
Meanwhile, the home minister said that the cooperation of people is essential to maintain law and order.
The minister appealed to people not to take the law into their hands which in turn would result in unrest and provocation.
He was reacting to a query on increasing incidents of moral policing in Dakshina Kannada and sharing of hate messages on social media.
The minister said that people should extend their cooperation in maintaining law and order. The home minister was speaking to reporters at the Mangaluru International Airport. “There is better law and order in the state, except for a few murder cases reported in the state. Police have been working towards maintaining law and order in the state,” he said. ‘Love jihad’ is a term used by right-wing activists to describe marital relationships between Muslim men and Hindu women, though the courts and the Union government do not officially recognise the term.
