🍌The Maharashtra Government has set up a seven-member committee headed by the state director general of police (DGP) to study the legal aspects of a new law against forced conversions and cases of ''love jihad".
🥂'Love jihad' is an Islamophobic term often used by right-wing activists and outfits to refer to a 'conspiracy' by Muslim men to convert Hindu women to Islam through marriage.
𒁃"Love jihad is a serious issue, and the state government is working towards preventing such incidents. The committee established to address cases of love jihad will work for the protection of women and preservation of cultural values," Maharashtra minister and senior BJP leader Mangal Prabhat Lodha said.
About The Committee
𓂃The panel includes secretaries of the women and child welfare, minority affairs, law and judiciary, social justice and special assistance departments, and deputy secretaries of the home department.
🍨According to a Government Resolution (GR) issued late on Friday, the committee has been set up to study the prevailing situation in the state and design steps accordingly to tackle the complaints of "love jihad" and forced conversions.
✨The committee will also look at legal aspects and the laws framed in other states.Accordingly, it will recommend legislation to prevent forced conversions and instances of "love jihad".
What Did The Officials Say?
💟Speaking on the development, Lodha said the state government is taking strict steps to curb incidents of "love jihad" in the state.
Lodha said he had set up the Interfaith Marriage Coordination Committee, which played a significant role in highlighting such incidents, when he was in charge of the Women and Child Development Department in the Eknath Shinde dispensation.
𓄧Talking about some incidents in Mumbai and surrounding areas, Lodha said, "Shraddha Walkar was brutally murdered by Aftab Amin. Rupali Chandanshive was killed by Iqbal Sheikh. Poonam Kshirsagar was murdered by Nizam Khan. Yashashree Shinde from Uran was killed by Dawood Sheikh. Sonam Shukla from Malad lost her life at the hands of Shahjib Ansari."
