BJP ups ante, seeks central law against narcotic jihad

Positions hardened further on the bishop’s charge of narcotic jihad, with the BJP asking the Modi government

to bring a law to deal with narco-terrorism and love jihad. BJP spokesperson Tom Vadakkan said the bishop’s statement was a wake-up call and the voice of the Christian community, whose members were allegedly victims of love jihad and narcotic terrorism.

He further alleged that the Kerala government has not taken cognizance of the threat despite inputs from investigative agencies.

Acting on the bishop’s warning, the Pala diocese of the Kerala Catholic Bishop’s Council (KCBC) decided to set up anti-narcotic cells to keep vigil on the threat. The cells are meant to take effective measures to keep young people away from drug abuse.

G Sukumaran Nair, general secretary of the Nair Service Society, representing the prominent Nair community, lent support to the bishop, saying that the jihadis were using love and other enticements to trap girls for compulsory conversion and described this as a terrorist activity.

Opposition leader VD Satheesan, however, wrote to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking immediate steps to deal with attempts to destroy the state’s communal harmony through social media by creating division, distrust and hatred among various communities.

Some people are using the social media channels and messaging apps such as Facebook, Youtube, WhatsApp and Telegram to spread communal venom, he said and urged the government to investigate the problem seriously.