
BJP MLA Usha Thakur calls for harsh punishment for 'love jihad' accused: 'Eyes gouged out, hands chopped off'
Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Usha Thakur said on Thursday that people who are involved in 'love jihad' should be punished as per Sharia law. Udha Thakur said they should have their eyes gouged out and hands chopped off. Sharia, the traditional Islamic law, has a provision for such harsh punishments for such criminals, she said.
The term 'love jihad' is used by right-wing organisations to claim that Muslim men lure women of other religions and marry them in order to convert them to Islam.
Usha Thakur has been a former Madhya Pradesh culture minister.
When asked about alleged cases of love jihad in Indore and Bhopal, Usha Thakur said those involved in these incidents "very maliciously" say they are doing 'sawab' (virtuous) work.
The ruling party MLA from Mhow in Indore district added that criminals who act against humanity and morality should be punished according to Sharia law.
'If these people are openly violating the anti-love jihad law, then according to Sharia, their eyes should be gouged out and their hands should be chopped off. I think there is a provision for such strict punishment in Sharia for thieves, characterless people and criminals who spoil the lives of other people,' Usha Thakur said.
'If such evil people are caught (by the police), they will not be spared. Their houses, property, everything will be confiscated and they will roam on the road as beggars. Only then they will stop doing such demonic acts,' the BJP MLA said.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Indian Express
24 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Now on Delhi's roads, buses that will drop and pick you up right near your home
Aarti (18) has been taking the new green buses on the Anand Vihar ISBT to Mayur Vihar Phase 1 route to work every day since they started operations on May 2. At 10 am, she boards the bus from the street outside her house in East Delhi's Khichripur and rides it to Jai Laxmi Apartments in IP Estate, where she works as a domestic help. 'I work there for two hours and then come back home to have lunch and rest. Then I go back again for three hours and return on the bus at 6 pm,' she says. 'Pehle rickshaw mein upar neeche karne mein 40 rupay lag jaate the, isliye kabhi din mein ghar jaati bhi nahi thi (Earlier, I used to take an e-rickshaw which cost me Rs 40 if I took it four times. That's why, sometimes, I didn't come back home to rest). Now, it is convenient for me as I pay nothing — bus rides are free for women — and get to sit in the AC.' 'Now, I tell everyone I know about the new buses,' she adds. Aarti is excited about the newest solution to a problem that has long plagued the national capital: the lack of affordable and reliable first and last-mile connectivity options. The Delhi government's answer to it was the mohalla bus scheme, now rechristened as the DEVI (Delhi Electric Vehicle Interconnector) scheme by the new BJP government. Under this, 9-metre buses (as opposed to standard 12-metre buses) would ply on routes that can't be accessed by bigger buses at a high frequency. Two weeks after 400 DEVI buses hit Delhi's streets at an inauguration event attended by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, The Indian Express hitched a ride on these buses and spoke to passengers. Most were enthusiastic about the service; some voiced concerns, including a lack of awareness about such buses and uncertainty about timings, that hinder regular use. On the ground At 9 am on a Wednesday last month, on the Seelampur Metro station to Johri Enclave route (D-025), the bus driver is patient as the vehicle makes its way through narrow lanes and crowded streets, fighting its way at corners and intersections and honking at briskly moving e-rickshaws and wrongly parked cars. At Mustafabad Gali No. 8, Aadil Malik, 17, hops onto the bus along with his friend and colleague Rahul Rajput. 'We generally take an e-rickshaw to our warehouse in Brijpuri,' says Aadil. The fare is the same for both modes of transport. But we don't know when the bus will come… today, the bus came at the appropriate time for us, so we took it,' he adds. 'We will be happy to take it daily if it comes at the same time… why won't we, it is air conditioned,' says Rajput, who works with Malik at a steel repair company. These buses mostly ply on high-congestion roads, which leads to them frequently getting caught in traffic jams. 'We are not able to arrive at the same time every day at different stops because of traffic,' says bus conductor Sameer Khan. Asked about this, Delhi Transport Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh says, 'To serve Delhi's public, we have to ply the buses on these routes. We will think of rerouting, but when a significant number [of buses] are plying on Delhi's roads. Where there's less need, we will decrease the numbers, where there's a requirement for more, we will increase the buses.' It is 9.30 am, and the bus is mostly empty throughout the route, with only occasional passengers. At most stops, like Ghonda Chowk or Yamuna Vihar Depot, no one boarded the bus. 'When people head to work in the morning, buses from residential areas to metro stations and hubs like Seelampur are full. In the evening, when people are returning, it is the opposite,' says Khan. Right then, Afreen Ansari, 23, who is taking the bus from Seelampur Metro station to Karawal Nagar along with two kids and sister-in-law, asks: 'Why are you taking such a long route?' 'This is the route of the bus, that's why. This is not a rickshaw that can go in any lane!' answers Khan. Afreen and her family are heading home from their aunt's place. While taking a rickshaw would have cost them Rs 35, the bus ride is free for them. Many people are still unaware of the routes, and at several stops, buses are often flagged down by commuters asking about their destinations. But from conversations with commuters, it becomes clear that the DEVI buses are mainly competing with e-rickshaws, which are even quicker and more reliable, for passengers. 'Earlier, I used to take three buses and two e-rickshaws to reach Jal Vihar from Khadar. Now, with DEVI, I only need to change two buses and one e-rickshaw,' said Manju, 40, who is on the bus going from Nehru Place Terminal to Madanpur Khadar JJ Colony, which is chock-full at 7 pm on a Tuesday last week. Other passengers say drivers of Eeco cars, RTV buses, and e-rickshaws have changed after this bus was introduced. 'Gramin seva tempos have brought down their rates in some areas,' a passenger chimes in. Devansh Mittal is a trainee correspondent with The Indian Express. He studied political science at Ashoka University. He can be reached at ... Read More


Hindustan Times
30 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Will work to make Yamuna as clean as Ganga: Delhi CM Gupta in Haridwar
Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday visited Haridwar and took a dip in the Ganga at Har Ki Pauri ghat, where she promised to 'clean up the Yamuna' and work towards a 'developed Delhi.' Along with her family, the chief minister is on a two-day trip to Uttarakhand after completing 100 days in office. 'Taking blessings from Maa Ganga, we will work to make Maa Yamuna clean and beautiful. We will serve Yamuna to make it clean. We will work to speed up the development of Delhi. Taking the blessings of Maa, I feel very satisfied that as the chief minister of Delhi, I will be able to do better work for Delhi,' she said. Later in the day, Gupta and Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami participated in the inauguration of Vatsalya Ganga Ashray, a dharamshala, at Kankhal. Hours after taking a dip in the river, Gupta on Sunday reiterated that her government was continuously working towards cleaning the Yamuna river. Gupta said, 'Yesterday, we did the aarti of Yamuna ji in Delhi and today, I took a bath in Ganga ji. Today, I want the blessings of all the saints sitting on this stage that one day we will be able to take a bath in Yamuna ji. Yamuna is dry; there is no water in it, and the water that is there is very dirty. I have to work continuously to achieve this goal of cleaning the Yamuna River.' CM Gupta said that she was a 'junior CM' compared to Dhami and that she would continue to seek his guidance. 'Keep guiding he passes (policy) here, we will also implement it in Delhi. Gangotri and Yamunotri both flow from here. We will take water for Yamuna ji as well as schemes for it.' On the second day of the trip, Gupta is likely to visit Kedarnath and Badrinath. CM Dhami said that Gupta has been working in the political and social sector for a long time. 'She made a resolution here that she will make Yamuna ji just like Ganga ji. Tomorrow, her visit to Kedarnath and Badrinath Dhaam is scheduled. I wish all the wishes of the people of Delhi can be fulfilled during her tenure.' Cleaning the Yamuna river was a major poll promise and a key priority of the BJP-led government in Delhi. At the event marking 100 days of the government at JLN stadium on Saturday, Gupta said the Arvind Kejriwal-led party merely put up a show under the guise of cleaning the river, while untreated sewage continued to be discharged into it. The BJP-led government, on the other hand, made a ₹9,000 crore allocation to the Delhi Jal Board budget to strengthen sewerage system and water supply infrastructure, install seven new sewage treatment plants, rehabilitate eight more STPs, and launch decentralised STPs.


India Gazette
36 minutes ago
- India Gazette
BJP MP Raghunandan Rao terms Kavitha's dharna a 'media stunt'
Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], June 2 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Raghunandan Rao dismissed BRS MLC K Kavitha's call for a 'Maha Dharna' at Indira Park as a political attempt to remain in public view. The protest, scheduled for June 4, comes in response to a notice issued by the PC Ghose Commission to her father and Telangana former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao in connection with the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project. Calling the protest unnecessary, Rao said, 'Instead of doing a dharna at Indira Park, whatever the allegations against KCR, you can go and deny it before the commission.' Labelling the protest as mere theatrics, he said, 'Doing dharna is a mere political stunt to gain some relevance in the media, and there is nothing else to it.' Rao said the proper procedure should be followed in the matter and clarified that the Centre cannot independently initiate a probe without the state's consent. 'It is the duty of the state government to write a letter to the CBI, or to the Central government, to take the case. The CBI or the Centre cannot take the issue directly.' Kavitha, who had on May 21 objected to the PC Ghose commission's notice to KCR in connection with the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project, has announced the protest as a response to what she termed 'calculated political conspiracy'. In a post on X, Kavitha emphasised that Kaleshwaram was built for the welfare of farmers. 'The notices to KCR Garu over the Kaleshwaram project are part of a calculated political conspiracy to tarnish the image of a true people's leader. Kaleshwaram was built for the welfare of farmers and future generations, not for politics. Today, this inefficient Congress government is undoing the very progress Telangana fought for,' Kavitha wrote. The BRS MLC further highlighted that KCR has devoted his life to Telangana and the transformation of barren lands into fields of prosperity, which is now being targeted by the 'visionless' regime. 'KCR Garu, who has devoted his life to Telangana, transforming barren lands into fields of prosperity, is now being targeted by a visionless regime. No vindictive Government can diminish his legacy. The truth will prevail, and history will remember who stood for the people and who tried to bring them down,' the post read. Justice PC Ghose Commission on May 20 had issued summons to former Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), former Minister Harish Rao, and BJP MP Etela Rajender, who also served as a minister during the BRS regime, in the ongoing investigation into alleged irregularities in the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP). The Commission, which has been probing financial and procedural lapses in the multi-crore irrigation project, directed the three political leaders to appear for questioning in the first week of June. According to the sources, KCR was asked to appear before the Commission on June 5, followed by Harish Rao on June 6 and Etela Rajender on June 9. (ANI)