The National Commission for Minorities has written to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh seeking probe into “vitriolic utterances” of BJP leaders against Muslims.
Many BJP leaders, including lakshmikant Bajpai and Yogi Adityanath, had raised the issue of ‘love jehad’ ahead of the Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh earlier this month.
“The love jehad allegations are baseless and pose a threat to religious cohesion. We have written to the Home Minister asking his intervention in the matter. Singh should ask the BJP leaders to stop inciting the masses on rumours and call for a probe as this hateful activity may escalate to bigger religious tensions,” said a member of the NCM.
More recently, BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj had invited a lot of ire from across sections when he said Madrasas were “hubs of terror” providing an “education in terrorism”, where love jihad flourishes. He claimed that a Muslim youth in a madrasa would be offered a reward of Rs11 lakh for an ‘affair’ with a Sikh girl, Rs10 lakh for a Hindu girl and Rs7 lakh for a Jain girl.
The ruling Samajwadi Party termed Maharaj’s comments as “hate speech” and accused him of creating community divisions.
Several BJP leaders from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat in the recent past have issued statements asking Hindu girls to stay away from Muslims.
Singh has, however, denied the existence of a targeted ‘love jehad’ campaign.