GUWAHATI: Assam will bring a law to ensure that people found indulging in 'love jihad' are awarded life imprisonment, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Sunday.
Speaking at a meeting of state BJP executives here, the Assam CM said, "We spoke about 'love jihad' during the elections. We will bring a law in the next few days that will entail life imprisonment for those found indulging in love jihad."
Notably, the term 'love jihad' is used by right-wing groups to allege a ploy by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into religious conversion through marriage.
In a series of posts on X, Himanta said, "Assam government is bringing two laws to stop Land Jihad and Love Jihad... If a Muslim wants to buy a Hindu's property or a Hindu wants to buy a Muslim's property, he will have to get government permission... Those practicing love jihad will be punished with life imprisonment."
Earlier, Sarma directed the Assam Police to develop a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to investigate cases of 'love jihad' cases.
The Assam CM also announced that the state government will introduce a new law under which only those born in Assam will be eligible for state government jobs. He further said that his government gave priority to indigenous people in state government jobs.
“The Congress says the indigenous people are not getting jobs under the BJP-led government in Assam. I will share the details, including addresses, of one lakh youth who got recruited (in last three years). Let us know who is not an Assamese,” Sarma said, referring to the grand old party.
Talking about an Assam government decision regarding the sale of land between Hindus and Muslims, he said while the government cannot prevent such land transfers, it has made it mandatory to obtain the consent of the state government before such transactions.
“Undivided Goalpara district has been an integral part of Assam. There was a time when it had great importance for the Koch-Rajbongshi community. But the people from a certain community kept snatching the land of the indigenous people and turning them into a minority community,” he said.
“The state government has proposed to bring a law in the next few days to ensure that nobody can sell off our land to people from a certain community in undivided Goalpara district. We can no longer allow such transfers of the remaining land owned by ST, SC, and other backward communities,” Himanta added.
Some districts in lower Assam were part of undivided Goalpara, where Muslims are in the majority in some areas.
Meanwhile, highlighting his government's achievements, Sarma claimed that the state has remained free from demonstrations and agitations over the past three years.
“We have brought the tribals back to the mainstream. For the first time, tea garden workers and Gorkhas have received recognition as indigenous communities. No previous chief minister had the courage to say the Gorkhas are the indigenous people of Assam,” he said.