16 cases, All accused are Muslims; UP govt still says 'Love Jihad' has no religion
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Activists in Bangalore on December 1 hold placards during a demonstration condemning the proposed passing of laws against "Love Jihad."
Lucknow: 16 cases have been registered so far under the UP government's law, banning forced conversions. The UP government of Yogi Adityanath, is with a bizarre argument that the accused in these cases are all Muslims and yet the law is not religious at all.
So far, cases have been registered against 86 people in the state, under the law for the marriage between Hindus and Muslims. 54 people were arrested. Family and friends of the main accused are in custody. Not even one of the main culprits belongs to any other religion.
According to the latest reports,with the enactment of the law, widened the mental distance between the two communities. Fear increased among Muslims. Extreme right- wing parties stepped up efforts to intensify fears. The UP government refers to it is a 'good legislation' with no other option to prevent fraudulent and forced conversions.
The UP government says, it is not specifically targeting any religion, but when it comes to filing cases, statistics show that it is targeting certain people .
Cases has already been registered in Sitapur, Kanoj, Kanpur, Hardoi, Bijnor, Muradabad, Shahjahanpur and Bareilly thus far. It is said that in these cases, there was an attempt for a forced conversion. Families and those who got married, however, deny this argument.
Not only Uttar Pradesh, but many other states under BJP have passed similar laws. Allegations of a specific community being hunted down in the name of law are also strong here.
Although the Supreme Court recently commented that the validity of the law could be considered, it was not prepared to stay the law.