Cong will oppose if BSY govt try to bring in law against love jihad and cow slaughter: Siddaramaiah
'Ban on beef in Karnataka, but why not in BJP ruling Goa?'
Bengaluru, Dec 1: Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka assembly Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the Congress will oppose if the government tries to bring in legislation against "love jihad" and cow slaughter in the state during the coming winter session.
His comments come in the wake of the Uttar Pradesh governor giving assent to an ordinance against forcible or fraudulent religious conversions, which provides for imprisonment of up to 10 years and fine of up to Rs 50,000 under different categories.
"Love jihad" is a coinage used by right wing activists to refer to the alleged campaign of Muslims forcing Hindu girls to convert in the guise of love.
A delegation of Muslim leaders today met Siddaramaiah and held discussion as the government has decided to introduce the anti-cow slaugher bill during the state legislature session starting from December 7.
"Why has anti-cow slaughter legislation not been implemented in BJP ruled state of Goa? Why Karnataka? Muslim leaders had come to meet me expressing fear that if the law is enacted some of them will have to face difficulty and losses.
We will oppose it strongly if the matter comes up for discussion during the session," Siddaramaiah was quoted as saying by his office in a release.
The Animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu Chavan had recently said the anti-cow slaughter bill will be introduced during the winter session.
He had also said if the law was enacted, along with prohibition on slaughter, sale and use of beef, illegal transportation of animals for slaughtering would be stopped.
Terming the ordinance enacted in Uttar Pradesh, which among others also curbs religious conversions only for the sake of marriage, as unconstitutional, Siddaramaiah said after crossing a certain age everyone has the right to marry a person of choice.
He said there is nothing in the constitution which specifies that a person has to choose a life partner from a specific community.
"This ordinance is without any sanity or discretion," he claimed.
Stating that inter-religious marriages have been happening in the county between Hindus and Muslims from the time of the Mughals, the former Chief Minister said the constitution does not provide for implementing such a law.
If such a law is questioned in the court, it will get dismissed.If the government goes ahead with bringing in such a law despite it being against the constitution, it will prove the true intentions of the government, he said.
"It makes clear the malicious intent of the BJP to disturb peace in the society," he said.
Last month Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had said that the government will take strong measures to put an end to religious conversion in the name of love and marriage.
Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai too had said the government was considering a law against religious conversion for the sake of marriage, even as several BJP leaders had put forward similar demands.
However, reacting to Siddaramaih's statement, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy said there was no proposal of enacting a law against religious conversion for the sake of marriage before the government for now.
"I don't know why he (Siddaramaiah) is issuing statements by guesswork. Being the scrutiny committee chairman,I can say that no such proposal has come before me yet," he added.
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Masked men attempt to break into Haryana Cong chief's house in Narnaul, FIR lodged
Chandigarh (PTI): Masked men tried to break into the ancestral house of Haryana Congress president Rao Narender Singh in Narnaul, but failed after some staff members woke up on hearing the noise and informed police, officials said on Sunday.
The incident took place in the early hours of Saturday in Narnaul's Shiv Colony. The family members of Singh's brother Rao Devender were inside the house at the time of the incident.
A group of four-five masked men scaled a boundary wall to enter the house from the rear side. They cut off the CCTV wires and locked the rooms of the house staff from outside, police said.
Then they attempted to break open the rear entrance of the house using sharp tools. The house staff was woken up by the noise and raised an alarm, following which the intruders fled by jumping over the boundary wall.
Police said they reached the spot immediately after receiving the information about the incident.
Narnaul Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Bharat Bhushan said special teams have been formed to nab the accused.
An FIR has been registered under Section 330 (house-trespass and house-breaking) and other relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in the matter, he said.
Police teams examined CCTV footage from near the house, in which four masked men are seen on foot. According to preliminary investigation, it appears that the accused may be part of a gang which is active in Bhiwani-Mahendragarh, the DSP said.
"It appears that they entered Rao Narender Singh's house at random for theft and the house may not have been their specific target," Bhushan said.
"We hope to make early arrests in the case," he added.
The opposition Congress targeted the BJP government over the incident, alleging that the law and order in the state is deteriorating.
Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said the accused cut the CCTV camera wires, broke the locks and attempted a "deadly assault" on Singh's family. He demanded immediate arrest of the accused.
He said if such an incident can take place at the house of the state Congress chief, imagine the state of fear the common people must be living in.
Surjewala said Singh and other Congress leaders have consistently raised their voices against the "organised crime mafia across Haryana".
Extortion, ransom demands, murder and robbery have become everyday occurrences in Haryana and crime reigns supreme, the Congress leader alleged.
