The Sri Ram Sene's threat to marry off couples caught on Valentine's Day may be just an empty threat because according to law, a forced marriage is no marriage.

The Sri Ram Sene announced yesterday that they would capture lovers celebratingu00a0 Valentine's Day, take them to a temple and get them married according to Hindu rituals. "Our members will carry a mangalsutra or taali made of turmeric and a poojari.u00a0u00a0 If they say they are not lovers, we will make the girl tie a rakhi for the boy," said Sri Ram Sene chief Pramod Mutalik.

When asked what he would do if the couples were not Hindus, Mutalik said they would also be married in a temple. Some of the Ram Sene members present with Mutalik told MiD DAY, "We will convert them to Hinduism then and there and get them married in a temple."

When it was pointed out that the marriage of non-Hindus in a temple would be invalid, he said, "We will take them to the sub-registrar's office and get them married."

Mutalik doesn't seem to know the law when it comes to marriage. "No marriage can be forced. A forced marriage isu00a0 considered null. The people who force can be arrested," said senior advocate and former women's commission chairperson Pramila Nesargi.

Getting non-Hindu couples married in a temple also is not valid. "A non-Hindu cannot get married in a temple.

Even if one partner is a Hindu, the marriage cannot take place in a temple without conversion, as itu00a0 will be invalid."

She said the same applies to people of other religions. Christians have to get married in a church while Muslims according to the Islamic law.In caseu00a0 they belong to diferent religions, one of them has to convert and then marry as the rituals. If they do not want to convert, they can get married as per the Special Marriage Act in the subregistrar's office. "For this too, they must give a month's notice and only then can the marriage take place. No one can forcibly take you to the registrar's office and get you married," she said.

Let them love, roam and do everything, but throughout the year. Day culture is not Indian culture. I am against Valentine's Day, Father's Day, Mother's Day, Friendship Day. These days ruin the family system

There were three women inside (the pub in Mangalore) who had stripped and were ready tou00a0 shoot for a blue film. We did not let the media shoot them because taking them on camera would be like insulting our own mothers and sisters

New Year's Day is Christian. Celebration of this day should also be stopped. Our new year is Ugadi

Valentine's Day takes our boys and girls on the wrong path. Girls are misused on
this day

Wherever we find lovers celebrating Valentine's Day we will take them to a temple and get them married

Tell Agni Sridhar he's no longer an underworld don and can do nothing to us

Even men should not go to pubs. Drinking alcohol should be banned completely. Even all wine shops should be shut

Just because they in the Puranas did that, we should do the same now?
(In response to a reporter who said that in the Puranas Lord Indra drank alcohol while the 'apsaras' danced for him and the other gods)

In some communities like the Kodavas, families sit together and drink alcohol. This is fine. People can drink indoors but should not drink outside and fall on the roads. Pub-going women wear revealing clothes and dance there