Congress Should Not Link Triple Talaq Bill 'To Any Community': PM Modi

New Delhi, June 26, 2019:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday compared bill to ban Triple Talaq to women's empowerment and said the Congress should not try to block the passage of the Bill in the Parliament.

The flagship bill, lapsed in the Rajya Sabha last time, but has been re-introduced again.

Accusing the Congress of missing ground realities because it "flies high", the Prime Minister said it missed the opportunity in the '50s to establish a uniform civil code and "instead, went ahead with the Hindu Code Bills".

Thirty-five years later, in the 1980s, it got another chance through the Shah Bano case, he said. "Even the Supreme Court helped, and there was an atmosphere of gender equality across the country. But they were riding high and couldn't see the ground realities. They again missed the opportunity," he said.

He said that although the Congress missed the opportunities, 35 years later, the Congress once again has the opportunity as the BJP has presented a bill (Triple Talaq) for the dignity of women, adding that there is no need to link it to any particular community.

As his final argument, he recounted reports about a Congress minister, who, when the Shah Bano case came up, said, "it is not the responsibility of the Congress to uplift Muslims. If they want to lie in the gutter, let them be".

The BJP contends that the Congress is interested in the Muslims only as a votebank. Amid cries of "shame" from the opposition, PM Modi laughingly said the leaders need to worry, he would provide YouTube links to back up his comment.

The Congress is not the only party that opposes the bill, which provides for a three-year jail term for any Muslim man who divorces his wife instantly by uttering "Talaq" thrice.

Most opposition parties, NDA ally Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal United, Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal and Andhra Pradesh's ruling YSR Congress are opposed to it as well.

Most parties are against the provision of jail term for the husband. They contend that a penal provision cannot be introduced in a domestic issue that's civil in nature. The bill, in its current form, would end up victimising Muslims, they say.

The government maintains a law against Triple Talaq would stop victimization of the women and give them equal rights. Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said the proposed law is part of the government's motto of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas".

But the government is still a minority in the Rajya Sabha and needs support to pass such contentious bills.

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