Mumbai: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis reiterated the need for a ‘love jihad’ law in Maharashtra, claiming that these were not isolated cases and over a lakh complaints were made. He was speaking to a group of women journalists on the occasion of International Women’s Day on Saturday. Two BJP MLAs proposed a private member’s bill in the ongoing state assembly session to address ‘love jihad’ – a term used to allege a conspiracy where Hindu women are lured into marriage by Muslim men using a fake identity.
The state government set up a committee in February this year to study legislation related to ‘love jihad.’
“Initially, these seemed to be isolated cases, and there is a method to the madness. It reveals a radicalised mindset. We will be studying the report of the committee,” Fadnavis said.
When asked about a media monitoring cell set up by the Mahayuti govt, Fadnavis said that the purpose of the cell would be to keep track of stories on the government so that it could respond and clarify if needed.
Fadnavis said he felt very blessed to have a single girl child and never faced societal pressure to have a male heir to carry forward his political legacy. “I am very happy to have a daughter. I feel daughters are more likely to look after their parents,” Fadnavis said. He added that he was likely to be the last member of his family who would be in politics. “My daughter wants to be a lawyer,” he said.
When asked about his support for his wife who pursued a different vocation, Fadnavis said he always respected his wife’s independence even though he did not necessarily agree with her views. “She often has to face trolling on social media because of me,” Fadnavis said.
When asked about the impact of the women’s reservation bill, Fadnavis said that when he won municipal corporation elections in the 1990s, many elected women candidates had to give way for their husbands who ruled by proxy. However, this has changed, and women who are elected have come into their own, he said.
When he was deputy CM too, Fadnavis had spoken in favour of a law against ‘love jihad’ and he repeated his statement after he became CM for the second time when he spoke of setting up a panel on the subject.