VHP uses Kareena pic on ‘love jihad’ issue

New Delhi: The right-wing Vishwa Hindu Parishad says actor Kareena Kapoor can sue if she has objections to a morphed photo of hers that has been used by the women's wing of the organization to warn against "love jihad" - the alleged conspiracy by young Muslim men to romance Hindu women and then make them convert after getting married.

"If actress Kareena Kapoor has a problem with this, the doors of Court are always open for her," said Prakash Sharma of the Vishva Hindu Parishad or VHP, which is affiliated to the ruling BJP, in a comment to news agency ANI.

The photo of Ms Kapoor which is doing the rounds on Twitter today, shows half of Kareena's face covered by a niqab, partly obscuring a bindi on her forehead and the sindoor in her hair. It has been used for a magazine published by the young women's cell within the VHP. Ms Kapoor, star of films like Heroine, Omkara and Bodyguard, is married to Muslim actor Saif Ali Khan. The 34-year-old has not converted to Islam but has added 'Khan' to her last name.

Rajni Thukral, who publishes the magazine, said in an interview to Hindi publication Amar Ujala, "The youth is influenced and attracted by people like Kareena, who at the time of her marriage had claimed that she would not embrace Islam and will not drop her surname, but only add 'Khan'. However, she is seen practising various Muslim rituals and she is leading a dual life.