Uttar Pradesh: Strict Legislation against 'Love Jihad': BJP's stalwart move vs Opposition's baseless allegations

The Uttar Pradesh Assembly has just passed landmark legislation aimed at curbing unlawful religious conversions, particularly through marriage, described as 'love jihad'. This bill, providing stringent penalties, including life imprisonment in cases of severe violations, has been brought in by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the BJP government. Clearly demarcating a division between the BJP's commitment to the protection of societal values and opposition's baseless criticism, the move has received quite a mixed response.

Yogi’s Commitment to Protecting Society

The Yogi government has had a long set of commitments toward protection of social values and inhibition of exploitation in the garb of religious conversion. These amendments into the Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act will alone do so.

Uttar Pradesh government wants the maximum punishment to be enhanced from ten years to life imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh as a stringent deterrent to prevent those who aim at exploiting and manipulating vulnerable people through forced conversions. Hence, now anyone can register an FIR in cases of conversion, which now manifoldly broadens the scope for legal action and protection.

Giving reasons for bringing in this legislation, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said it works as a deterrent upon the coercive practices. The BJP leader, Mohsin Raza further supported that the bill aided in dealing with illegal religious conversions involving deceitful impersonation for malicious intents.

Baseless Opposition Criticisms

In marked contrast, the opposition—particularly the Samajwadi Party and Congress—has fallen back upon some unmindful allegations and misleading narratives in their criticism of the bill.

The SP labelled it 'divisive' and 'animosity-inducing'. It completely sidesteps the basic essence of the bill, which is one for protection from coercion and fraud.

This remark of theirs only testifies to the desperate bid to redirect public attention away from the failure of the opposition camp in coming up with any meaningful alternative policy based on solid reasons.

It was joined in by Congress, with similar sentiments, accusing BJP of an attempt to reap political dividends from the 'love jihad' issue. Such statements do not only depreciate but actually expose how much the opposition is more into appeasement politics for short-term political mileage rather than long term societal welfare that genuinely addresses issues which the bill brings out.

The Real Impact of the Bill

The revised bill aims at plugging the loopholes in this legislation introduced in 2021 by widening the ambit of legally actionable complaints and including all crimes under this act as non-bailable, thus making the legal process more accessible to victims and less amenable to manipulation by perpetrators. The enactment laid down that the cases related to forcible conversion be heard at higher courts, providing greater judicial scrutiny and fairness.

This bill, in a nutshell, has, at its very core, the very essence of the BJP's 'sabka saath, sabka vikas.' It tends to save all sections of society—women and minors—from the evil clutches of unlawful conversions. Stringent provisions have been incorporated in this bill in order to check any type of exploitation either in the name of marriage or otherwise so that this law works just as a strong deterrent.

Conclusion

The Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion (Amendment) Bill, 2024, spells out the resolve of the BJP towards individual rights and social values. It stands as a robust shield against exploitation and coercion despite opposition muddling baseless allegations and making false attempts at politicising the issue.

It is now high time that the opposition concerned itself with constructive criticism and policy developing rather than spreading false narratives for political mileage.

It has reiterated the commitment of the BJP to ensuring justice to, the dignity, and protection of the rights of every individual in society by making provisions for stringent punishment and extending its ambit for prosecution.

Article by

Shomen Chandra

Sub Editor, The Narrative