Patna: Opposition parties in BJP-allied rule in Bihar accused Bajrang Dal of attempting to incite communal tensions after the right-wing Hindutva outfit paraded tableau based on "Love Jihad" on Wednesday as part of Shivratri celebrations, The Indian Express reported.
The right-wing Hindutva extremist outfit ran a 50-off tableaux procession in Munger, reportedly featuring gory images and communally charged messages. It also included images of Hindu deities Shiva and Parvati.
Hindutva organisations use the term “Love Jihad” to claim that there is a scheme by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into romantic relationships and marriage in order to convert them to Islam.
Following the problematic tableau incident, the opposition parties, such as Rashtriya Janata Dal leader (RJD) and the Congress, said that it was “inciteful. RJD leader Mrityunjay Tiwari said that the state government should take note of the outrageous posters similar to the Shivratri procession in Munger. Bihar Congress spokesperson Gyan Ranjan Gupta also issued remarks on the incident along similar lines. According to him, the Constitution of India does not allow anyone to attack any religion directly or indirectly. He also added that the problematic posters were in bad taste.
However, the Bajrang Dal unit in Munger claimed that the Love Jihad posters were meant to be a “social message”. Bajrang Dal convenor in Munger, Saurabh S Sampanna, told TIE that the organisation did not name or target any religion but used some news items published in various newspapers. It only wanted to draw people’s attention towards “atrocities” against Hindu women in the name of marriage.
But in a curious statement by the BJP, an ally of the Nitish Kumar coalition in the state, claimed that Bajrang Dal “does not function legitimately in Bihar as part of the RSS’s subsidiary wing.
BJP said, “If some local people are calling themselves Bajrang Dal members, we have no idea. But love jihad is a matter of great concern, and its social message could have been given in a better manner than using some gory images,” TIE quoted.