In the past two years, more Muslim girls have accepted Hindu religion and got married, said Congress MLA Gyasuddin Shaikh in the Gujarat Assembly on Monday, adding that such “social” incidents should not to be distorted and presented to the public. “Two days ago in Maninagar, a Muslim youth was in company of a female Hindu friend. they were beaten up badly. The father of the girl told the police that the two families were close, and the incident is unfortunate. Despite this statement from the father, no complaint has been registered yet,” Shaikh said while talking about mob-lynching episodes in Gujarat. “We have been seeing for the past several years that one community is being targeted. Even news channels are full of Hindu-Muslim discussions. Compared to Hindu sisters who have undergone religious conversions for marriage, in the last two years, more Muslim daughters have accepted Hindu religion and got married. Last time, I had given 100 such examples to the minister. It is a serious matter that such issues are distorted,” he said while speaking on the budgetary demands in the House. The MLA, however, did not give any figures regarding religious conversions. “The provisions for the minorities in the (state) budget is reducing by the day. The money allocated is not even spent fully. Last year, Rs 7,161 lakh budget was allocated and from that Rs 22 crore (Rs 2,200 lakh) was unspent. This year, the government has allocated Rs 8,058 lakh,” he said it was too less considering the population of minorities. “We demand a minority ministry in Gujarat that can help allocate and spent sufficient amount of money for minority welfare,” Shaikh added.
