Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel on Saturday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led states and asked whether inter-religion marriages of family members of BJP leaders will fall under the definition of 'love jihad'.
"Family members of several BJP leaders have also performed inter-religion marriages. I ask BJP leaders if these marriages come under the definition of 'love jihad'?" asked Baghel while addressing media.
Earlier, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday said "love jihad'' is a term manufactured by the BJP to divide the nation and disturb its communal harmony. He said the marriage is a matter of personal liberty and bringing a law to curb it is completely unconstitutional, he said.
"Jihad has no place in love. They are creating an environment in the nation where consenting adults would be at the mercy of state power. Marriage is a personal decision and they are putting curbs on it which is like snatching away personal liberty," Gehlot tweeted. He said it seems a ploy to disrupt communal harmony, fuel social conflict, and disregard constitutional provisions like the state not discriminating against citizens on any ground.
Baghel and Gehlot's comments come amid plans in four BJP-ruled states – Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Karnataka – to outlaw what the Bharatiya Janata Party and the respective government heads call ‘love jihad’.
