Nothing called ‘Love Jihad’, says MoS Reddy

The minister, however, said two cases from Kerala involving inter-faith marriage have been probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

GOVERNMENT ON Tuesday told the Lok Sabha that there was nothing called “Love Jihad” under the existing laws in the country and that the Constitution gave everyone the freedom to practice and propagate any religion.

In reply to a written question on whether the government was aware of Kerala High Court saying there was nothing called Love Jihad, Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy said : “The term ‘Love Jihad’ is not defined under the extant laws. No such case of ‘Love Jihad’ has been reported by any of the central agencies.”

The minister, however, said two cases from Kerala involving inter-faith marriage have been probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). It is understood the minister was referring to the Hadiya case where the court had directed the central agency to probe alleged links of her husband with Islamic State and if she had been converted before marriage forcibly. The central agency was also probing another case related to the issue in Kerala.