MLA Sailesh Mehta writes to Guj CM over ‘Love Jihad’ law

Dabhoi MLA Shailesh Mehta (Sotta) has written a letter to the Gujarat Chief Minister demanding a law like Uttar Pradesh to prevent the occurrence of ‘love jihad’. The letter said that marriage should be registered wherever they live, and parental consent is required.

Notably, the U.P. government enacted a law to stop love jihad and Dabhoi MLA then demanded the Gujarat government to make a law on love jihad. In Vadodara, a controversy has arisen over an inter-faith marriage. And once again Shailesh Mehta (Sotta) has written a letter to the Chief Minister to enact a law to curb the rising cases of love jihad in Gujarat.

In the letter, he mentioned that in Vadodara, a youth from a minority community in Nagarwada ran away and married a Hindu Brahmin girl, who converted into a different religion. He further stated that a law should be made that a young man and woman can register a marriage wherever they live or the existing law should be amended.

In addition, he said, the registration of marriage takes place in a particular office and it has a period of one month. If there is no objection, the marriage register is recorded in the government book. After 30 days a certificate of marriage register is issued by the office. In Vadodara’s recent case, neither the young woman nor the man’s family knew about this whole process.  In Gujarat, there is no specific law for inter-caste young men and women who run away and get married due to which Hindu girls are getting married by converting to another religion. If there is a law, an inquiry can be held into how a Hindu girl was married.

He mentioned in the letter that the Central Government has also amended the Special Marriage Act to give one month’s notice in Sections 5 and 6 and research is recommended to improve in which 60 days should be given instead of 30 days in section 5 and notice should be given to the parents of the married person by amending section 6 and putting a notice in the public place of the office. However, a provision should be added or amended in the law that with parental consent marriage can be registered in the Special Marriage Registration Office so that love jihad cases will come under control.