Rajat Sharma, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, India TV
The Union Cabinet, in its first meeting after the formation of Narendra Modi 2.0 government, on Wednesday decided to bring the Triple Talaq Bill in order to replace the ordinance that is in force. This bill will replace Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Second Ordinance and if passed by both Houses, will pave the way to place curbs on the practice of talaq-e-biddat, or instant triple talaq.
The bill was passed by Lok Sabha last year, but it could not be passed in Rajya Sabha because of opposition from Congress and other parties. The bill lapsed with the dissolution of 16th Lok Sabha. The new bill will be introduced again in the forthcoming session of Parliament.
"Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas" has been the pivot of the NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Centre said in a statement. This is part of the massive outreach towards Muslim community initiated by the Prime Minister, through upgradation of madrasas, scholarships for Muslim students and implementation of welfare schemes among the Muslims.
The Triple Talaq Bill will ensure gender equality and gender justice to Muslim women and will also help in protecting the rights of married Muslim women. The bill declares the practice of talaq-e-biddat as void and illegal. It provides for three years imprisonment and fine. It also provides for payment of subsistence allowance to married Muslim women and dependent children.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has earned the respect of millions of Muslim women by taking the initiative in putting curbs on triple talaq, which was literally a sword hanging over their heads. The Supreme Court had struck down the instant triple talaq practice as unconstitutional.
Modi has now started taking serious steps for his outreach among the Muslims, and it is in tune with this aim that the Triple Talaq Bill will be introduced again in the 17th Lok Sabha.
The outreach among Muslims is politically meant to break the age-old stranglehold of self-appointed political leaders claiming to espouse the cause of Muslims by creating loyal vote banks. This perception has been debunked in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, in which Muslims voters, too, voted for the BJP in large numbers, because they have benefited from social welfare scheme like Ujjwala, Ujala, Mudra and Swachh Bharat.
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