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CPI (M) slams party leader over his ‘love jihad’ remark
After the marriage between party youth wing (DFYI) leader Shejin and Jyotsna Joseph in Kerala, Thomas had said that the elopement and sudden marriage had “disrupted communal harmony” in the area and triggered enough suspicion on “love jihad.”
A day after Kerala high court allowed a Catholic woman to live with her Muslim husband and refused to interfere with her decision to wed outside her faith, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Wednesday decided to censure its senior leader George M Thomas for his controversial “love jihad” remarks on the said couple.
After the marriage between party youth wing (DFYI) leader Shejin and Jyotsna Joseph, Thomas had said that the elopement and sudden marriage had “disrupted communal harmony” in the area and triggered enough suspicion on “love jihad.” He had said “love jihad” existed, triggering a big controversy. Later, the party disowned him.
“His remarks were against the party’s position. Since he admitted his lapse, the district committee decided to censure him in all party forums. Though it was a slip of tongue, his utterances damaged the party,” said district secretary P Mohanan. He said severe punishment was avoided after he realised his mistake and corrected it.
Earlier, the party state secretariat had expressed serious reservations over his statement and asked the district committee to take appropriate action against the former legislator. Later, the party asked leaders not to give credence to the term (love jihad).
‘Love jihad’ is a term used by right-wing activists to describe marital relationships between Muslim men and Hindu women, though the courts and the Union government do not officially recognise the term.
Reacting to the development, opposition BJP said that the senior leader was silenced for speaking truth. “It seems that the party is scared to admit the truth,” said BJP state president K Surendran.
Later, Thalassery Bishop Mar Joseph Pamplany also expressed concerns over mixed marriages without explicitly calling it “love jihad.” Catholic church mouthpiece — Deepika — also wrote an editorial saying some of these marriages were “not so honest and innocent as portrayed by many.”
On April 9 Shejin, a DYFI leader and local committee member of CPI(M) in Kodencherry and Jyotsna Joseph, a nurse working in the middle-east, went missing. After this, Christian believers organised protest marches saying it was another incident of “love jihad.”Two days later, the couple appeared before a local court and expressed their desire to live together and the court agreed to it.
On Tuesday, the high court closed the habus corpus plea filed by Jyotsna’s father P Joseph after hearing her in detail.
