Karnataka BJP president and MP Nalin Kumar Kateel sparked controversy on Monday, January 2 when he instructed party workers to prioritise the issue of ‘love jihad’ over discussions about infrastructure and development with voters. He claimed that only a BJP government could address this issue by passing a law against it.
Addressing the party workers at the launch of ‘Booth Vijay Abhiyan’ in Karnataka’s Mangaluru ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, Nalin Kumar said, “Don't talk about small issues like roads and sewage. Don't say that Vedavyas (Vedavyas Kamath is a BJP MLA from Mangaluru South Assembly Constituency) didn't raise his hands inside Vidhana Soudha. Don't say that Nalin Kumar doesn't have the right to raise the issue.” He further added, “If you’re worried about your children’s future, and if you want to stop love jihad, then we need the Bharatiya Janata Party. To get rid of love jihad, we need the Bharatiya Janata Party,” he said. ‘Love jihad’ is a bogey used by right-wing groups to propagate a false theory that Muslim men deliberately ‘trap’ and marry Hindu women to convert them to Islam.
He further urged corporators of the BJP to prioritise gaining more votes for the party above all else. “Many corporators have been sleeping. Party didn’t make you win elections to sleep. First, do the organisation's work. All corporators visit houses and contact people. In the next three months, every corporator and elected representative shouldn’t think of anything else but how they can get more votes for BJP in their wards,” he said.
Nalin Kumar also claimed that the Congress party would allow ‘love jihad’ to prosper and would repeal laws against cow slaughter and religious conversion if it came to power. He asked the party workers whether the people of Karnataka wanted a ‘Nava Karnataka’ (New Karnataka) or a ‘Karnataka with terrorists.’ He further claimed that senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah would be jailed on corruption charges before the next Assembly election.