UP govt clears ‘love jihad’ ordinance, jail up to 5 years for violators

The Yogi Adityanath government on Tuesday approved the draft of a stringent law to curb unlawful conversions— which BJP leaders refer to as “love jihad”—in the state.

The Ordinance provides for a jail term of 1-5 years with Rs 15,000 penalty for forceful religious conversion. For conversions of minors and women of the SC/SC community, there will be jail term of 3-10 years with Rs 25,000 penalty. In case of mass conversion, offenders can be penalised with a jail term of 3-10 years and a fine of at least Rs 50,000.

“UP CM Yogi Adityanath and the cabinet ministers have passed the law against love jihad. No woman should be converted under the idea of manipulation and love. If someone wants to convert after marriage, that person should follow the rule and do it in proper process in front of the Zila district magistrate,” State minister Siddharth Nath Singh said.

After Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, UP is the third such state which announced the enactment of a legislation to check “love jihad”.

A few weeks ago, the Madhya Pradesh government said it was mulling a law against “love jihad”. Madhya Pradesh minister Narottam Mishra had made the announcement.

The move comes after the state Law Commission submitted a report on the subject to Adityanath last year, along with a draft ‘Uttar Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2019’, proposing that “conversion done for the sole purpose of marriage to be declared null and void”.

However, the law targeting ‘love jihad’ has been criticised by many leaders. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said the term ‘love jihad’ has been coined by the BJP to divide the nation. But several BJP leaders like Devendra Fadnavis and Giriraj Singh supported the law.