RSS supports law against ‘love jihad’, says Hosabale

The 66-year-old also distanced the Sangh from the recent ‘ripped jeans’ remarks of Uttarakhand chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat. “He (Rawat) is capable of answering…. There’s no reason to bring RSS into this,” he said.

The newly elected Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) general secretary, Dattatreya Hosabale, on Saturday said the RSS would support the laws against ‘love jihad’.

Dattatreya Hosabale and Pragya Tiwari engage in a discussion in this file picture from 2017. (Saumya Khandelwal/ Hindustan Times)

‘Love Jihad’ is a term used by right-wing activists to describe relationships between Muslim men and Hindu women, though the courts and the Union government do not officially recognise the term.

“The use of fraudulent methods to lure girls for marriage, conversion, or taking them to other countries has to be condemned and opposed. Some states have even come forward to make laws against this and the RSS supports this,” he said.

The 66-year-old also distanced the Sangh from the recent ‘ripped jeans’ remarks of Uttarakhand chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat. “He (Rawat) is capable of answering…. There’s no reason to bring RSS into this,” he said.

During the meeting of the Sangh’s highest decision-making body, V Baghiah and Suresh Soni, both in the 70s, were relieved of their duties as joint general secretaries and made part of the national executive. Former BJP general secretary Ram Madhav has been called back to the Sangh from the party and given a place in the RSS’s All-India Executive Wing.