Cobrapost report reveals BJP-VHP-RSS nexus against 'love jihad'

Startling revelations have been made by the news website Cobrapost about the controversial issue of 'Love Jihad' and all the groups which are working against it. There have been incidents in the past where the term was coined time and again to highlight the alleged problem of 'Muslim' men cajoling 'Hindu' women into marrying them.

As per the report by Cobrapost and Gulail tried to bust the nexus between outfits like Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). They claim that these organisations and their 'splinter' groups have been using methods of violence, intimidation, emotional blackmail, etc., to highlight the 'problem' of being a Hindu-Muslim couple.

During their investigation, their members met with RSS, BJP and VHP leaders from various places. The report claims:

• The concept of 'love jihad' is being ostensibly used to polarise both the communities.

• It is an attempt to portray Muslim men as a threat to Hindu community.

• The groups implicated men of raping the women they eloped with and also used force to intimidate women.

• Leaders brainwashed the people to not cooperate in investigation of rape cases following communal riots.

• Some leaders believe that the police and administration cannot stop them as they have popular support.

• The groups have appointed lawyers who are inclined towards their ideology to act as informants from the marriage registrar's office.

• Meetings are held, pamphlets are distributed among the people to spread 'awareness' about the entire issue among Hindu population.

• They use violence against the women who oppose them and also misbehave with them to make them fall in line with the cause.

• Once they get to know about any such marriage being conducted, they undertake an immediate 'rescue operation'.

• To control the 'aggressive' girls, drugs which cause temporary amnesia is used while 'rescuing' them.

• The team visited Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala and discovered a similarity between the methods used.

Who said what?

Radhey Shyam, VHP worker from Muzaffarnagar- "Love jihad happens because you are weak. You just need to shoot a few people and it will stop the next day. If you see their boy with our girl, just shoot them."

Umesh Malik, who contested MLA election in Badhana, UP on BJP ticket said- "If our mothers and sisters' honour is at stake, our daughters-in-law and our daughters's honour is at stake, then I say in this panchayat that if we can die we can kill also."

Suresh Rana, BJP MLA from Thana Bhawan,UP- "Our daughters were being constantly treated this way. It is my challenge, in a way it was an open invitation to the youth, to join in hands and save our girls [Muslims] and instead get [Muslim] wives."

Hukum Singh, BJP MP from Karana, UP- "We are failing before law as the girl gives statement in the police station that that she would to stay with the boy. We will block out everything, we will block roads, we will make life difficult for them, we will raise questions in the Assembly and do whatever is possible for us and whatever options are available."

Sanjeev Balyan, BJP MP from Muzaffarnagar, UP- "Every village has a maulvi. They have an organised system. The maulvi says that Muslims have ruled over this land for 700-800 years and they will again. They talk about such things. They do not understand. There is such a dangerous conspiracy to expand this operation."

Sangeet Som, BJP MLA from Sardhana, UP- "Muslim can marry up to four women and those women can adjust among themselves. You tell me which Hindu girl will adjust like that? There are, of course, some exceptions."

Captain Ganesh Karnik, BJP MLC in Karnataka- "We have tried to send some of our boys into police. When I talk to students I tell them to join the police. So when we need help there are a lot of karyakartas, RSS. Sixty percent of the young constables are our students."