The Karnataka Youth Congress said that they acted as “soldiers of love” on Valentine’s Day to take a stand against Hindutva groups who harass couples in public spaces.
Karnataka Youth Congress president HS Manjunath Gowda told TNM that the Youth Congress had decided on taking a stand as Hindutva groups such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Shri Rama Sene and the Bajrang Dal were notorious for ‘moral policing’ on Valentines’ Day.
“If such groups harass couples in public places such as malls and other areas, we will stand against them. Article 21 (right to life) of the Constitution gives all people the right to live as they please. Who are these people to go around and question people when they are going about their daily lives?” Manjunath told TNM.
He said that the Congress workers at the block and district level had been instructed to keep an eye out for such instances and support people if harassed. “We will stand with people as soldiers of love,” Manjunath said.
He said that the Supreme Court had said that love and choice of partner are also fundamental rights. There is freedom to love and live with a partner of mutual consent, without the barriers of caste and religion. Therefore, we do not tolerate any acts that violate the rights of lovers, he said in a press release.
Asked about the reports on ‘love jihad’ in the media in the past week, Manjunath said that not all the claims made in the media could be verified. “There are laws to deal with marriages. Hindutva goons are going around moral policing at malls and shops. We stand against that.”
Love jihad is a false Hindutva narrative that claims Muslim men ‘lure’ Hindu women into relationships or marriages with the intention to convert them.