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Lucknow, Hitting out at the BJP over the love jihad issue, Samajwadi Party’s Rampur MLA Azam Khan has said that two prominent leaders of the ruling party, who have Hindu wives, must be asked the meaning of ‘love jihad’.
Khan, a major Muslim face of the Samajwadi Party, reportedly said that the BJP has coined the term ‘love jihad’ and two of its senior leaders Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Shahnawaz Hussain, who have Hindu wives, will better explain it meaning.
Khan, however, stressed that both “love” and “jihad” are “paak” (pious) terms that should be above petty politics. The SP leader made these remarks late on Monday while replying to questions from reporters about “love jihad,” a term that gained currency after the Muzaffarnagar riots of last year.
Khan went on to say that there is nothing wrong if two people from different religions choose to get married and live together. Citing the example of BJP leaders, Khan said that these Muslim leaders, married to Hindu women, should be asked to explain what “love jihad” is, for they personified the unique bond between people of different religious persuasions.
His statement comes at a time when hardline BJP leaders like Yogi Adityanath have strongly criticised the ‘love jihad’ and said that is a ruse by Muslim men to trap Hindu women in a bid to convert them.
To this, Khan said that the BJP should first put these two leaders on trial then attack others.
Interestingly, Shahnawaz Hussain’s wife Renu, and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi’s wife Seema, are both housewives.
