BJP EYES GAINS
The verdict comes as a shot in the arm for the BJP-led NDA government ahead of polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh later this year. ››
BJP’S STAND AGAINST TRIPLE TALAQ IS LIKELY TO APPEAL TO MUSLIM INTELLIGENTSIA AND RIGHTWING ELEMENTS WHO HAVE ACCUSED CONG OF APPEASING MINORITY COMMUNITIES
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court verdict striking down instant triple talaq, comes as a shot in the arm forth e BJP-led N DA government ahead of assembly elections in Gujarat and Him ac hal Pradesh later this year.
The BJP is likely to celebrate the verdict as a vindication of its stand against triple talaq as a practice that violates the principles of equality. PM Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah and many senior BJP leaders were quick to welcome the court ruling, terming it as a victory for gender justice and dignity.
While BJP leaders repeatedly said that the SC judgment should not be linked with religion, RSS leader Indresh Kumar’s gave away the Sangh’s stance on the issue with his remark that the day of verdict should be celebrated as “Islam-saved-from-orthodoxy day”.
Another indication of how the BJP could encash the verdict politically came when law minister Ravishankar Prasad took a dig at Rajiv Gandhi government for bringing about a legislation in 1987 to over turn the apex court ruling on alimony to divorced Muslim women in the famous Shah Bano case.
“Leadership of PM Mod ii snot leadership of Rajiv Gandhi who will buckle under pressure ,” said Prasad
The BJP’s stand on trip let alaq is expected to appeal to the liberal intelligentsia within the Muslim community as also to the rightwing elements who have be rated the Congress for allegedly indulging in “minority appeasement ”.
In October, the NDA government had opposed the practice in court, triggering a political debate that resonated in the ens uing Uttar Pradesh elections. After the state polls, BJP leaders claimed that a large number of Muslim women, who were aggrieved by triple talaq, voted for the party.
Professor Badri Nayaran of the GB Pant Social Science Institute, Allahabad, said the SC verdict would “benefit” the BJP electorally: “The BJP had got its benefit in the UP elections. It’s a big issue in the Muslim community and could affect their voting pattern. The BJP will certainly gain from it.”
Opinions are, however, divided on whether the triple talaq verdict would benefit the BJP. “Not more than 8-10% of Muslims vote for the BJP. I don’t see the party getting any political mileage out of the ruling. This will go down with people as a verdict of the court ,” Professor Sanjay Kumar, director of think-tank Centre for the Study of Developing Society, told HT.
BJP sources were, however, confident that the NDA government’ s unequivocal stand against triple talaq would go down well with Muslim women and also put the Congress on the back foot.
“During the Congress regime (in Gujarat), there were riots every six months. Our government talks about 6.5 crore Gujaratis. We work for everyone’s interest: appeasement for none, justice for all, ”Gujarat chiefminister Vijay Rupani told HT on Monday. .
In Congress-ruled Himachal , corruption charges against chief minister Virbhadra Singh and a dismal law and order situation have given an impetus to the BJP.
The issue of triple talaq is now likely to feed into the prevailing narrative of theopposition party.