"Voice Of Community": BJP On Kerala Bishop's "Love, Narcotic Jihad" Claim

Backing Kerala bishop Joseph Kallarangatt's claim of "narcotics jihad", the BJP on Sunday said what he has alleged is the voice of the community and appealed to the central government to bring a law to deal with “narco terrorism and love jihad”.

BJP spokesperson Tom Vadakkan said cases of “love jihad” and drug abuse victims have been rising and that the Kerala Bishop Council, too, is of the opinion that terrorism and rampant flow of drugs into the state, both interconnected, is a menace.

The Kerala government has not taken cognisance of the fact despite inputs from investigative agencies, he alleged.

"The intervention by Bishop Joseph Kallarangatt of Pala, Kerala, during sacred worship is not just a wakeup call for his dioceses but it is the voice of the community who are victims of love jihad and narco terrorism," Mr Vadakkan said in a statement.

The bishop council has raised the issue following inputs from devotees of different churches, he said, alleging that young girls are lured who fall prey to “love jihad” and "later end up in foreign jails".

''Love Jihad'' is a term used by right-wing activists to refer to an alleged campaign of Muslims forcing Hindu girls to convert in the guise of love.

"The rising drug abuse in different communities has affected peace within families and has created socio-economic disorder of disastrous levels," Mr Vadakkan claimed.

The intellectual and academic strengths of the young generation is destroyed through narco terrorism or “narco jihad”, he alleged.

"These are not mere allegations against any community in particular but these anti-social elements pose a threat to national security and would destroy the young generation," the BJP leader said.

"My appeal to the central government is to bring central legislation to book such elements, and bring in fast track courts to deal with narco terrorism and love jihad," he added.

Joseph Kallarangatt had on Thursday triggered a controversy, saying Christian girls were largely falling prey to "love and narcotic jihad" in Kerala and wherever arms cannot be used, extremists were using such methods to destroy the youth belonging to other religions.

Addressing devotees during a church celebration at Kuravilangad in Thiruvananthapuram, the bishop said as part of the "love jihad", non-Muslim girls, especially those belonging to the Christian community, were largely being converted after trapping them in love and being exploited and misused for destructive activities like terrorism.

Muslim outfits had protested the statement of the bishop, alleging it was meant to create a communal divide in the state.