The newly elected Sarkaryavah (general secretary) of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Dattatreya Hosabale, said on Saturday that the RSS will support any law to stop fraudulent marriages to lure girls with the sole intention of conversion or to trade them off to other countries.
Replying to a question about the RSS' views on 'love jihad', Hosabale said that both Karnataka and Kerala high courts have confirmed the practice of love jihad.
"In the name of love and marriage, cheating women and committing fraud to convert them or to abduct them have created furore in the society. To curb such acts, a lot of states are bringing laws and the RSS supports these laws," he said.
The term love jihad is commonly used to mean forced conversion on the pretext of marriage. Hosabale claimed that the term was not coined by the RSS, but by the judiciary -- courts in Kerala and Assam -- which were the first to use the terminology.
"The use of fraudulent methods to lure girls for marriage and conversion is condemnable and it has to be opposed. Suitable laws and regulations have to be introduced and the RSS will support such laws," he said.
Hosabale asserted that the RSS had never held a viewpoint that girls should not marry the boys of their choice.
"Even among the staunch supporters of the RSS, many have married into different caste groups. We are for progressive thinking. But that doesn't mean allowing girls to be lured by fraudulent methods, either with the sole intention of converting them to a particular religion or to sell them off in some other country. Such fraud marriages should not be allowed anywhere. It is a matter of woman's dignity, nothing else," he said.
Hosabale maintained that as far as RSS is concerned, it will work towards a society which is bereft of all differences in terms of caste, community etc.
"The RSS will always work towards the creation of a united society. It does not consider caste and other differences as is evident in its working," he said.
