Activist lawyer Saket Gokhale has moved the Bombay High Court seeking removal of National Commission for Women chairperson, Rekha Sharma considering her tweets misogynist politically biased and communal invocation of love jihad.
Days before this action, Gokhale had urged Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smriti Irani, to sack Sharma from the position.
“I’ve filed a writ petition with the Hon’ble Bombay HC praying for directions to @MinistryWCD to sack Rekha Sharma as Chairperson, NCW for her communal invocation of “love jihad” & for her misogynist politically-biased tweets. In these circumstances, she’s unfit to head the NCW,” tweeted Gokhale.
Advocate Gokhale has accused her of violating Article 14, Article 21, and Article 25 of the Constitution of India and under the provisions of Sec 4. (3)(d) of the National Commission of Women Act, 1990.
The petition was moved in connection to her recent tweet in which she mentioned her meet with the Governor of Maharashtra for having a discussion related to women safety and the rise in love jihad.
Gokhale, in his petition, has claimed that Ms. Sharma has indulged in a blatantly communal and divisive discourse that casts aspersions on her ability to act in a non-partisan secular manner.
He also submitted, “The invocation of rising cases of love jihad by the Chairperson of Respondent No. 2 when no such cases even exist points to a communal dog whistle policy which is intended to target the Muslim community, vilify inter-faith couples, and create discord in society.”
“By invoking the baseless communal concept of “love jihad”, the Chairperson of Respondent no. 2 has interfered with the freedom of inter-faith couples to practice their faith freely while marrying each other without the fear of persecution and targeting based on religious grounds by Respondent no. 2,” the petition said.
