BJP eyes electoral gains as Cong goes on back foot
The Supreme Court judgement to strike down the Islamic divorce practice of instant triple talaq on Tuesday comes as a shot in the arm for the BJP-led NDA government ahead of the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh polls later this year.
The BJP is likely to showcase the verdict as a vindication of its stand against triple talaq as a practice that violates the principles of gender justice and equality. While development, or the lack of it in opposition-ruled states, has been the BJP’s central poll plank , rivals have accused it of stoking Hindutva sentiments.
The party’s stand on triple talaq is likely to appeal to the liberal intelligentsia within the Muslim community as also to the right-wing elements who have berated the Congress for indulging in “minority appeasement”.
“It’s the victory of Muslim women’s right to equality .... I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP government for putting forth Muslim women’s side in the court prudently,” party president Amit Shah tweeted after the verdict.
In October, the NDA government had opposed the practice in court, triggering a political debate that resonated in the ensunity. ing Uttar Pradesh polls.
After the state elections, BJP leaders claimed that a large number of Muslim women, who were aggrieved by triple talaq, voted for the party.
UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath said recently that the “silence” (of opposition leaders) on triple talaq reminded him of Draupadi’s “cheer haran” (disrobing) in the Mahabharata.
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,” he told HT.
Since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress has been guarded in its reaction to issues concerning the minority commu- Senior Congress leaders were of the view that their rivals were successful in projecting the party as a pro-minority group that cost it dearly in state polls.
The thinking in the party was betrayed by the aggressive showcasing of vice president Rahul Gandhi’s visits to temples in the social media.
In Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh, corruption charges against chief minister Virbhadra Singh and a dismal law and order situation in the state— highlighted by the rape-murder of a minor student on the outskirts of Shimla recently—have given a big handle to the BJP to beat the ruling Congress with.
The issue of triple talaq is now likely to feed into the prevailing narrative of the opposition party.
With the BJP running away with the electorally potent issue, the Congress seems to be on a damage-control mode, especially after the party faced many questions over senior leader Kapil Sibal representing in court the All India Muslim Personal Law Board which had defended triple talaq as a matter of faith.
The grand old party will, however, need to do much more to establish its progressive credentials that had taken a hit following the Rajiv Gandhi government’s decision to dilute the SC in the Shah Banu case. It was Shayara Bano who challenged the practice before India’s top court. Shayara, who holds a degree in MA Sociology, was divorced by her husband by pronouncing the word talaq thrice through a letter sent to her on October 15, 2015 when she was visiting her parents’ house. Shayara, who hails from Uttarakhand’s Hempur Daya in Kashipur, filed a petition against triple talaq, halala and polygamy in the Supreme Court on February 23, 2016. After divorcing her, Rizwan, a property dealer in Allahabad, took away her two kids-due to which she suffered from depression Gulshan Parveen of Rampur in Uttar Pradesh filed a petition in Supreme Court asking for abolishing triple talaq. In 2015, she alleged her husband sent her a talaqnama on a Rs 10 stamp paper when she was at her parents’ home. The English literature postgraduate said she was subjected to domestic violence by him for dowry for over two years.“My husband felt like it one fine day and suddenly both my two-year-old son Ridan and I were homeless,” Parween was quoted as saying by NDTV. She refused to accept it, following which her husband approached a Rampur family court asking for dissolution of the marriage. A resident of Howrah in West Bengal, Ishrat Jahan was divorced by her husband Murtaza through a phone call from Dubai. In April 2015, her husband of 15 years, called and uttered the talaq word thrice before hanging up. Murtaza had allegedly married another woman and took away their four children with him. “I am very happy at the judgement. The apex court issued the right directive. Now I hope to get justice. I have been fighting for the past two years,” said Jaha. She added that she is not against divorce, but wants the process to be fair. Atiya Sabri, a resident of Sahranpur in Western Uttar Pradesh is the last petitioner in the case. Her husband Wajid Ali – they were married in 2012 -- sent her a piece of paper announcing he was divorcing her. It was sent to her brother’s office in November 2015.She approached the Supreme Court in January this year challenging the divorce and said that triple talaq violates fundamental rights of women. She has two daughters, aged four and three. She alleged that after her second daughter, her in-laws tried to poison her and she had to be hospitalised. Her husband was arrested later and a trial is on. The top court made the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan a party in the case after taking cognisance of a survey which said 92% of Muslim women want abolition of triple talaq. Led by Zakia Soman (in pic) , the Mumbai-based autonomous body has been fighting for citizenship rights of Muslims since it was formed in January 2007. “It’s a balanced decision. Now we expect government to make a law against triple talaq the soonest,” said Naseem Akhtar, outfit’s Jaipur convener.
BJP’S STAND AGAINST TRIPLE TALAQ IS LIKELY TO APPEAL TO MUSLIM INTELLIGENTSIA AND RIGHTWING ELEMENTS WHO HAVE ACCUSED CONG OF APPEASING MINORITY COMMUNITY
Afreen Rehman got married in 2014 after finding a match through a matrimonial portal. However, after a couple of months, she alleged, her in-laws started mentally harassing her for dowry. Later, they even started beating her and in September 2015 they asked her to leave their house, she alleged. She went back to her parents’ home and received a letter via speed post announcing talaq in January 2016. “It’s a beginning towards the abolition of triple talaq in the country. A law against triple talaq is what we wanted and the court has directed the government to do the same...” said the MBA hailing from Jaipur.