Lucknow, June 9 (IANS) The Congress on Tuesday accused the BJP of attempting to turn the Shamli conversion row into a major political issue ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections due to a lack of substantive electoral issues.

Talking to IANS, Congress spokesperson Surendra Rajput said: “Under the Bharatiya Janata Party government, various illegal activities are taking place. If two adults have converted their religion voluntarily, without any force, inducement, or pressure, then no one should have any objection. However, if the conversion involved coercion, greed, or temptation, then the police should certainly take strict action.”

He further alleged that the BJP was trying to politicise an issue that could otherwise be handled through normal legal procedures.

“As the Assembly elections are approaching, the BJP does not have any real issues to contest the polls. Therefore, it is searching for issues that can be used for political gains. Such matters could be resolved at the police station level, but they are trying to project them as national issues. This strategy will not work anymore,” he said.

Rajput also said that the government would have to answer questions related to unemployment, women’s welfare, farmers’ concerns and rising fuel prices in Uttar Pradesh.

The religious conversion case in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli has taken a complex turn after police arrested a woman and her father, as the man at the centre of the controversy insisted that he embraced Islam voluntarily and not under any coercion or at anyone’s behest.

Police have arrested Chandni Qureshi and her father, Islam Qureshi, and registered a case against nine individuals in connection with the alleged conversion of a 30-year-old man, following a complaint filed by businessman Devraj Malik, who alleged that his son, Ayush Malik, had been converted to Islam under the pretext of marriage.

According to officials, the medicine trader said that Chandni worked as Ayush Malik’s physiotherapist as well as gym trainer before the two developed a personal relationship.

The complainant alleged that his son was subsequently taken to Delhi, where a nikah was conducted using forged documents.

Malik further alleged that the conversion had taken place several years ago and that his son had been influenced into changing his religion through a carefully planned process linked to the promise of marriage.

However, Ayush Malik has strongly rejected allegations that he was forced or manipulated into converting.

Speaking to IANS, he said he had willingly accepted Islam and was determined to continue following the faith despite mounting pressure.

“I willingly converted to Islam; no one forced me. FIRs are being filed against my family and I am being pressured to convert back to Hinduism. My family members are in jail right now; they have been arrested,” he said.

–IANS

jk/vd