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The Uttar Pradesh government's controversial anti-conversion ordinance, in the name of ‘love jihad’, has turned the state into "the epicentre of politics of hate, division and bigotry", read a strongly-worded letter signed by 104 former IAS officers to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The former civil servants, including former National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, former Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and former Adviser to the Prime Minister TKA Nair, have demanded that the "illegal ordinance be withdrawn forthwith", reported NDTV.
The letter highlighted several instances of minorities being targeted in the state.
Last week, two teenagers in UP's Bijnor were harassed and taken to a police station where a case of ‘love jihad’ was filed, despite objections from the girl and her mother. The boy has been in jail for over a week for allegedly forcibly trying to convert a 16-year-old Hindu girl.
The letter also stated that various high courts, including the Allahabad High Court, have ruled unequivocally that choosing one's life partner is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution, but “the state of UP is blithely undermining that very Constitution," the signatories said.
The IAS officers’ letter comes after a series of cases were filed by the UP Police under the new ordinance.
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