Amid 'A Suitable Boy' Controversy, TMC MP Nusrat Jahan Says, 'Love And Jihad Don’t Go Hand In Hand, Don't Make Religion A Political Tool'

TMC MP Nusrat Jahan said that it is a personal choice of a person about who they want to be with and it should not be mixed with politics.

Image Courtesy: Nusrat Jahan Instagram

Striking back at the uproar over “Love Jihad”, actor turned politician and member of Lok Sabha from Trinamool Congress Nusrat Jahan on Monday, said that love and jihad don't go hand-in-hand and people come up with topics like this just before elections. "Love is very personal. Love and jihad don't go hand-in-hand. Just before polls, people come up with topics like this. It is a personal choice who you want to be with. Be in love and start falling in love with each other. Don't make religion a political tool," Jahan told the media at a press conference in Kolkata. The former actor married to businessman Nikhil Jain, in 2019 won from Basirhat Lok Sabha Constituency in West Bengal. She emerged as the winner by a margin of 350,000 votes against BJP candidate Sayantan Basu.

The “Love Jihad” Controversy

The statement comes after Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra expressed his displeasure over a particular scene in a BBC television series, “A Suitable Boy” in which a Hindu girl kissed a Muslim guy in a temple. In a video statement on Sunday, Mishra said that kissing scenes were filmed in a temple while bhajans were being played in the background. He added, "I think it hurts feelings. I have instructed the police officials to examine the series and determine what action can be initiated against the makers of the series." In his caption, Mishra wrote that the series depicted 'objectionable scenes' which hurt the 'sentiments' of a particular religion. While the MP government has ordered a probe, several netizens raised their objections on Twitter by trending the hashtag #BoycottNetflix. They threatened to boycott the leading OTT platform for allegedly hurting religious sentiments. The scene created ruckus on social media as many users accused the producers of promoting 'love jihad'.

States to formulate laws to curb the “Love Jihad”

While the netizens are busy condemning and promoting #BoycottNetflix over alleged propagation of “Love Jihad”, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath in order to curb forced religious conversions post-marriage and “Love Jihad”, announced that the UP government will soon enact a law for the matter. Earlier, the Shivraj Singh government in the MP said the state would soon have a law against "love jihad".  On the other hand, BS Yeddyurappa led government in Karnataka has formulated a strict law against "love jihad". It is also worth mentioning that the Union Home Ministry on February 4 this year clarified that the term "love jihad" is not defined under existing laws and no such case has been reported so far, including by central agencies. According to the Central Home Ministry, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has investigated two cases of alleged “Love Jihad” from Kerala.