West Bengal to enact stringent laws against Conversion, ‘Love Jihad’ and ‘Land Jihad’
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By Ajay Haldar
Kolkata, June 27: The West Bengal government is mulling introduction of stringent laws against conversion, ‘Love Jihad’ and ‘Land Jihad’.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said his government proposed to make stringent laws to deal with such offences while it had already decided to table a bill on the Uniform Civil Code in the Legislative Assembly.
Although existing laws already contain provisions for legal action against forced conversion, the Bharatiya Janata Party has consistently advocated strict measures against such practices, he said, while speaking at an event organized by the ‘Citizen Empowerment Forum’ at Rabindra Sadan to mark the birth anniversary of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.
The Chief Minister said ‘Love Jihad’ and ‘Land Jihad’ would not be tolerated. Strict anti-conversion laws are already in place in BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Uttarakhand, he added.
Referring to 'love jihad', he said religious conversions are being orchestrated through calculated deception under the guise of marriage or personal relationships.
The validity of anti-conversion laws of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand has been challenged before the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, in Assam, the Himanta Biswa Sarma government has also incorporated provisions restricting interfaith marriages within its Uniform Civil Code framework.
The BJP had raised the issue of 'Land Jihad’ during its election campaign as well. The party repeatedly alleged that people belonging to a particular religion were systematically purchasing land in the state to alter the demographic composition.
Adhikari invoked Syama Prasad Mukherjee’s slogan—"One Nation, One Leader, One Constitution"—and took aim at the opposition without explicitly naming them. He stated, "Questions were raised regarding the role of the army during 'Operation Sindoor', while they remained silent on the attack by the terrorists in Pahalgam. Such acts of treason will no longer be tolerated on the soil of Bengal."
He said the state government would confer honors on August 9 upon those from the state who were arrested and imprisoned during the Emergency.
