The Congress has accused the BJP of trying to escalate the Shamli conversion issue into a significant political matter before the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections due to a lack of substantial electoral topics. Congress spokesperson Surendra Rajput highlighted that if religious conversions are voluntary and without coercion, there should be no objections. He criticized the BJP for attempting to turn this issue into a political tool rather than addressing it through legal channels.
Rajput emphasized that the BJP’s focus on such issues indicates a dearth of real concerns to address in the upcoming elections. He pointed out that instead of politicizing these matters, the government should be addressing critical issues like unemployment, women’s welfare, farmers’ problems, and the surge in fuel prices in Uttar Pradesh.
The situation in the Shamli religious conversion case has become intricate following the arrest of a woman and her father, with allegations of forced conversion. The controversy arose when a man claimed that he willingly converted to Islam and was not coerced. The police arrested Chandni Qureshi and her father, Islam Qureshi, and filed a case against nine individuals in connection with the alleged conversion of a 30-year-old man.
Allegations surfaced that the man was converted to Islam under false pretenses of marriage, leading to his father filing a complaint. The complainant accused that the conversion was orchestrated through deceitful means, including a forged marriage ceremony in Delhi. Despite the accusations, the man at the center of the controversy, Ayush Malik, vehemently denied being pressured or manipulated into changing his religion.
Ayush Malik affirmed that his conversion to Islam was a voluntary decision and expressed his determination to continue following the faith despite external pressures. He highlighted that his family members were arrested, and there were attempts to coerce him into reverting to Hinduism, which he resisted.
