Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], March 18 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Peeyush Mohanty has raised concerns over alleged "love-jihad" in Odisha while highlighting the state government's efforts in eliminating the issue.

Speaking with ANI, he claimed that the ruling BJP government in Odisha have rescued 5,000 children from across the country.

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"The BJP government has just rescued 5,000 children from various states of India. The Odisha police have brought them back. A boy who kidnapped a girl from Puri and took her away to Kerala has also been caught. The Puri police have just filed an FIR against him. Action taken by the Odisha police is being done very vigorously right now. This is about a boy who was calling himself Jairam, but he actually turned out to be Irfan. The incident of love jihad is very serious. Odisha police and the Odisha government are both taking strict action on this," Mohanty said.

Earlier in January, Senior advocate Ashwini Upadhyay claimed love jihad to be a "national problem". He said that over five lakh girls allegedly fall victim to it annually. He further alleged that love jihad was being orchestrated in a planned manner, involving the settlement of infiltrators and systematic religious conversions across the country.

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Speaking to ANI, Upadhyay said, "Love Jihad has become a national problem, and more than 5 lakh girls are falling victim to it every year. This is continuously changing the population demographics of India. Love Jihad is happening in India in a highly planned manner; infiltrators are being settled in India, and religious conversions are also taking place in a highly planned manner."

"The ultimate target is to change India's demography, because if a place's demography changes, its culture also changes," he added. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)