%26nbsp%3B

%u2018Love%20Jihad%u2019%20may%20be%20among%20the%20top%20priorities%20of%20Uttar%20Pradesh%20chief%20minister%20Yogi%20Adityanath%2C%20but%20his%20mandarins%20do%20not%20know%20how%20to%20deal%20with%20an%20inter-faith%20marriage%26nbsp%3Bwhich%20was%20stopped%20by%20cops%20on%20Thursday%20evening.

That%20is%20clearly%20visible%20in%20the%20indifference%20with%20which%20top%20bureaucrats%20of%20the%20state%20seem%20to%20be%20dealing%20with%20the%20a%20specific%20case%20in%20Lucknow%20where%20local%20cops%20moved%20in%20at%20the%20eleventh%20hour%20to%20abruptly%20stop%20an%20inter-faith%20marriage%20even%20though%20there%20was%20no%20violation%20of%20the%20new%20law.%26nbsp%3B

What%20was%20strange%20that%20the%20marriage%20was%20being%20solemnized%20with%20proper%20and%20active%20consent%20of%20both%20the%20families%20.%20Also%20there%20was%20neither%20any%20conversion%20involved%20nor%20was%20there%20any%20use%20of%20force%2C%20coercion%20or%20misrepresentation.%20Yet%20the%20police%20insisted%20that%20the%20two%20sides%20must%20get%20formal%20permission%20of%20the%20district%20magistrate%2C%20without%20which%20they%20would%20not%20allow%20the%20marriage%20to%20take%20place.%26nbsp%3B

Even%2024%20hours%20after%20the%20incident%2C%20top%20bureaucrats%20of%20the%20state%20feigned%20ignorance%20about%20the%20incident.%20%u201CI%20have%20only%20seen.%20what%20has%20been%20reported%20in%20the%20newspapers%20but%20I%20am%20still%20waiting%20for%20any%20official%20report%2C%20without%20which%20I%20would%20not%20able%20to%20give%20my%20comments%u201D%2C%20claimed%20Additional%20Chief%20Secretary%20%28Home%29%20Avanish%20Awasthi.%26nbsp%3B%26nbsp%3BDistrict%20Magistrate%20Abhishek%20Prakash%20too%20sought%20to%20wash%20his%20hands%20off%20by%20pleading%2C%20%u201CI%20have%20been%20very%20busy%20to%20get%20all%20details%20of%20the%20incident%20so%20far%20%3B%20I%20cannot%20say%20anything%20right%20now.%u201D

Both%20families%20appeared%20to%20be%20so%20terrorized%20that%20none%20was%20willing%20to%20speak%20to%20the%20media.%20Some%20other%20residents%20of%20the%20locality%20felt%20that%20the%20families%20were%20scared%20that%20would%20be%20targeted%20by%20the%20police%20is%20they%20dared%20to%20open%20their%20mouth.%20%u201CIn%20fact%2C%20to%20be%20on%20the%20safe%20side%2C%20both%20families%20had%20decided%20to%20go%20ahead%20with%20two%20types%20of%20marriage%20ceremony%20%u2013%20to%20first%20have%20as%20per%20the%20Hindu%20rites%20and%20then%20go%20for%20a%20%u2018nikah%u2019%20%u2013%20so%20that%20they%20could%20give%20it%20a%20religious%20balance%u201D%2C%20observed%20a%20neighbor%20on%20the%20condition%20of%20anonymity.%26nbsp%3B

Neither%20the%20girl%20Ratna%20not%20the%20boy%20Asif%20were%20accessible%20to%20the%20media.%20In%20fact%20%2C%20there%20was%20no%20response%20from%20Asif%u2019s%20house%20despite%20repeated%20knocks%2C%20but%20Ratna%u2019s%20grandmother%20%28dadi%29%20reluctantly%20agreed%20to%20speak.%20%u201CMy%20grand%20daughter%20Ratna%20who%20is%2023%20years%20old%20fell%20in%20love%20with%20Asif%20who%20lives%20in%20the%20neighbourhood%20%3B%20initially%20we%20were%20not%20in%20favour%20of%20the%20marriage%20but%20then%20we%20realized%20there%20was%20no%20sense%20in%20keeping%20them%20apart%20so%20after%20detailed%20deliberations%20both%20sides%20agreed%20to%20the%20wedlock.%20We%20decided%20to%20go%20ahead%20with%20both%20Hindu%20and%20Islamic%20rituals%20%3B%20we%20got%20lot%20of%20support%20from%20the%20entire%20locality%20as%20well%20%3B%20but%20finally%20the%20police%20stopped%20us%20from%20proceeding%20with%20our%20plans%u201D%2C%20the%20grand-mother%20told%20reporters.%20She%20hopes%20the%20district%20magistrate%20will%20not%20come%20in%20the%20way%20and%20eventually%20let%20the%20marriage%20take%20place.%26nbsp%3B

The%20new%20law%20that%20was%20ushered%20through%20an%20ordinance%20in%20Uttar%20Pradesh%20only%20last%20week%2C%20makes%20the%20district%20magistrate%u2019s%20permission%20mandatory%20only%20in%20case%20of%20religious%20conversion.%20It%20also%20disallows%20conversion%20%u201Conly%20for%20the%20purposes%20of%20marriage%u201D%2C%20while%20terming%20such%20marriage%20as%20%u201Cnull%20and%20void%u201D.%20The%20Lucknow%20DM%20was%20however%20not%20even%20in%20a%20position%20to%20state%20whether%20this%20incident%20in%20particular%20required%20his%20permission%20or%20not.

Interestingly%2C%20the%20Lucknow%20police%20acted%20on%20a%20complaint%20by%20a%20self-styed%20Hindutva%20body%20called%20Rashtriya%20Yuva%20Vahini%2C%20whose%20head%20K.D.Sharma%20is%20a%20resident%20of%20the%20same%20locality%20where%20the%20bride%20and%20bridegroom%20reside.%20Although%20the%20name%20of%20the%20organization%20sounds%20similar%20to%20Hindu%20Yuva%20Vahini%2C%20an%20aggressive%20Hindu%20outfit%20created%20by%20Yogi%20Adityanath%20in%20the%20days%20of%20his%20political%20infancy%2C%20this%20vahini%20was%20not%20even%20remotely%20connected%20with%20the%20that.%20Still%20the%20station%20house%20officer%20of%20Para%20police%20station%20under%20which%20the%20locality%20falls%20%2C%20maintained%2C%20%u201Cwe%20acted%20after%20we%20received%20a%20written%20complaint%20by%20Hindu%20Mahasabha%20district%20president%20Brijesh%20Shukla%20.%u201D

Defending%20the%20police%20action%20additional%20deputy%20commissioner%20of%20police%20Suresh%20Chandra%20Rawat%20told%20media%20persons%2C%20%u201Cwe%20were%20duty%20bound%20to%20act%20as%20the%20manner%20in%20which%20the%20marriage%20was%20planned%20could%20not%20have%20been%20accomplished%20without%20conversion%20and%20that%20required%20the%20DM%u2019s%20permission.%u201D%20According%20to%20him%2C%20%u201Cwhen%20the%20police%20reached%20the%20community%20centre%20where%20the%20marriage%20was%20to%20be%20performed%2C%20preparations%20were%20in%20full%20swing%20for%20a%20Hindu%20wedding%20%2C%20which%20was%20to%20be%20followed%20by%20an%20Islamic%20ritual%20%u2013%20and%20both%20rituals%20would%20have%20required%20conversion%2C%20so%20we%20had%20to%20stop%20the%20process.%u201D

It%20may%20be%20pertinent%20to%20point%20out%20that%20not%20only%20the%20police%20action%20but%20even%20the%20government%u2019s%20enactment%20was%20against%20the%20spirit%20of%20an%20order%20of%20the%20Allahabad%20High%20Court%20which%20came%20on%20the%20same%20day%20that%20the%20ordinance%20was%20passed%20by%20the%20Yogi%20cabinet.%26nbsp%3B%26nbsp%3BWhile%20over-ruling%20an%20earlier%20order%20of%20a%20single%20judge%20bench%20of%20the%20same%20court%2C%20which%20had%20held%26nbsp%3B%26nbsp%3Breligious%20conversion%20for%20purposes%20of%20marriage%20as%20%u201Cunacceptable%u201D%20%2C%20a%20division%20bench%20of%20Allahabad%20High%20Court%20termed%20the%20order%20as%20%u201Cbad%20in%20law.%u201D%20What%20was%20strange%20that%20Yogi%20Adityanath%20had%20relied%20heavily%20on%20that%20very%20single%20judge%20bench%20order%20%2C%20while%20issuing%20the%20ordinance.%26nbsp%3B

Meanwhile%2C%20the%20ordinance%20has%20been%20challenged%20before%20the%20Supreme%20Court%2C%20where%20the%20issue%20is%20pending.

%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23YogiAdityanath%22%20data-user-id%3D%22leobAMdwHc03%22%20href%3D%22/topic/yogi-adityanath%22%3E%23YogiAdityanath%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23LoveJihad%22%20data-user-id%3D%22Mnj8jowE8roJ%22%20href%3D%22/topic/love-jihad%22%3E%23LoveJihad%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23UttarPradesh%22%20data-user-id%3D%228fpxFfZw7Hfa%22%20href%3D%22/topic/uttar-pradesh%22%3E%23UttarPradesh%3C/a%3E%26nbsp%3B