Ahmedabad: The Gujarat government should ensure that “love jihadis” do not enter garba pandals during the coming Navratri festival and even the service providers at the events should not be from the Muslim community, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) demanded on Saturday.
Talking to reporters here, VHP joint general secretary Surendra Jain also claimed that Hindu religious processions were being increasingly targeted.
“Garba is an occasion to offer worship to Goddess. Some `jihadis’ misuse such occasions. I would like to appeal to all the organisers of garba that pandal-walas (those who construct pandals), catering service people, or members of security services should not be Muslim, and they should allow entry to any person only after checking ID card and Aadhaar card,” Jain said.
Love jihad’ is a term used by right-wing organisations to allege a ploy by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into religious conversion through marriage.
Jain also said that the Gujarat government passed an “anti-love jihad act” due to the VHP’s efforts, but it was not being enforced properly.
This story was originally published in siasat.com. Read the full story here
