New Delhi, May 29 -- 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' (virtu...