Ishrat Jahan, one of the petitioners in the triple talaq case, has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). BJP’s West Bengal unit general secretary Sayantan Basu said that Ishrat was felicitated by the Howrah BJP unit on Saturday and inducted into the party.
"Ishrat Jahan joined the BJP at our Howrah office yesterday (Saturday)," Basu said.
Basu said a state-level programme to felicitate her was yet to be organised. Party’s West Bengal unit chief Dilip Ghosh, who is touring various districts in the state, also confirmed the news.
Speaking to reporters after joining the BJP, Ishrat welcomed the Modi government’s move to get the Triple Talaq Bill passed in the Lok Sabha.
“I welcome the Centre’s move to pass the triple talaq bill. After this, the lives of our next generations are secured, and they will not have to go through the situation we experienced. I have joined BJP not because it is a political party, but because it supported our cause,” she said.
"Modiji made a revolutionary law in the interest of victims, I was very happy. I will work in the party's women wing," she added.
Ishrat, 31, was one of the five petitioners in the triple talaq case. Her husband had divorced her over the phone from Dubai in 2014 by uttering 'talaq' thrice.
Meanwhile, there are reports that Israt is likely to be the BJP candidate for the Uluberia Lok Sabha seat, which will go to bypoll on January 29.
On December 28, the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017 was recently passed by the Lok Sabha. The legislation, which has to be cleared by the Rajya Sabha, criminalises instant divorce with three years of imprisonment for Muslim husbands.
There is a provision for a subsistence allowance from the husband for the livelihood and daily needs of the wife and the dependent children. The wife will also be entitled to the custody of minor children. The practice of instant divorce is not followed in major Muslim countries including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt.
The Supreme Court had on August 22 scrapped the controversial practice.
