New Delhi: The proposed law against “love jihad” that is being brought by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Assam will include a provision to arrest the parents of the male accused, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday (October 25).

“We want to save our women from traps where they become victims of love-jihad and polygamy. We are bringing stringent laws, and the parents of the male accused in love-jihad cases will also be liable for arrest under the new law,” said Sarma, reported Hindustan Times.

The Sarma-led BJP government in Assam will table several important bills in the next session of the Assam assembly, including what Sarma termed as measures against polygamy and a law on “love-jihad.”

Speaking about the proposed anti-polygamy law, Sarma said that many men cause most harm to the women involved by marrying multiple times.

“Under the new law, if a man marries more than one woman, he will face up to seven years’ imprisonment,” he said.

“Some people say that Allah gives them children, so they cannot stop giving birth. I say, give birth as many as you wish, but do not expect government help to raise them or to send them to government schools,” Sarma added.

Reacting to the recent comments made by activist Medha Patkar on the investigation into singer Zubeen Garg’s death and on the Assam government’s eviction drives, Sarma said “outsiders do not understand the suffering of the indigenous people of Assam”. He urged such people to refrain from intervening.

“One community is trying to grab our land, and trying to take away our sisters through tricks like love-jihad. People like Medha Patkar won’t see that. If she comes here to protest against evictions, we will take strict action,” said Sarma, reported Hindustan Times.

The phrase “love jihad” appeared first time as a conspiracy theory in 2009 by the Sanatan Prabhat and the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti and was later picked up by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. It became a central agenda of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments in various states after 2014. Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana are among the prominent states that have such a law.

While occasional media reports bring out such marriages and the controversy they go through, there is no precise figure on the number of such cases. Hindu vigilante groups on prowl coupled with a biased and partisan police ensure that there are arrests as well over the false bogey of “love jihad.”

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