New Delhi, June 27: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today, while addressing party workers under the party's "Mera Booth Sabse Majboot" campaign in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, questioned if 'triple talaq' was inalienable from Islam, why it isn't practised in Muslim-majority countries like Egypt, Indonesia, Qatar, Jordan, Syria, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
Batting for the Uniform Civil Code, implementing which has been part of BJP's election manifestos, he said it doesn't work to have "different set of rules for different members of a family" and a country can't run on two laws. Egypt, whose 90 per cent population is Sunni Muslims, abolished triple talaq 80 to 90 years ago, he pointed out.
"Those who advocate for triple talaq, these people hungry for a vote bank, are doing grave injustice to Muslim daughters," the PM said.
He said triple talaq doesn't just concern women, but destroys entire families too. When a woman, who the family marries off to someone with a lot of hope, is sent back after triple talaq, the parents and brothers are pained with concern about the woman.
"Some people want to hang the noose of triple talaq over Muslim daughters to have a free hand to keep oppressing them," PM Modi said, adding that these are the people who support triple talaq.
"This is why Muslim sisters and daughters, wherever I go, stand with the BJP and Modi," he added.
The PM took a swipe at those who oppose the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), saying they are inciting some people for their own interests, "Indian Muslims will have to understand which political parties are provoking and destroying them for their own benefit," he said, pointing out that our Constitution also talks about equal rights for all citizen. The Supreme Court has also asked to implement UCC, he added.
PM Modi also slammed "those who accuse the BJP", saying if they really were well-wishers of the Muslims, then most families from the community wouldn't have been lagging behind in education and employment, and forced to live a difficult life.
The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act bans the practice of instant 'triple talaq' and entails imprisonment up to three years. The Supreme Court has said there is no bar on granting anticipatory bail in such cases, provided the court hears the complainant woman before granting pre-arrest bail.
A Uniform Civil Code means having a common law for all citizens of the country that is not based on religion. Personal laws and laws related to inheritance, adoption, and succession are likely to be covered by a common code. States such as Uttarakhand are in the process of framing their common code.
The Law Commission earlier this month initiated a fresh consultation process on the UCC, by seeking views from stakeholders, including public and recognised religious organisations, on the politically sensitive issue.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh last week said that Uniform Civil Code is part of the Directive Principles of the Constitution of India and that the Opposition is exaggerating the issue by labelling it as "politics of vote bank".
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