Chennai: Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK on Thursday sought to send out a 'secular' statement when its MP Anwhar Rajah outright opposed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights) on Marriage Bill, 2017 and alleged that the BJP was pursuing its “communal agenda” through this legislation.
The AIADMK's opposition to the triple talaq bill raised many political eyebrows in New Delhi and in Tamil Nadu since the party is being accused of playing second fiddle to the BJP after the demise of its charismatic leader J. Jayalalithaa.
The party's lone Muslim face, Rajah, who is the MP from Ramanathapuram constituency, launched a stinging attack on the BJP and accused it of bringing the Bill to “abolish the identity of Muslims in India.”
Party leaders said AIADMK’s Opposition was restricted to the bill alone and it should be not be interpreted in any other way. Maintaining that the AIADMK was not opposed to the Bill in total, Rajah told the Lok Sabha that there was no need to bring criminality clause in the issue of marital discord. “It is not that talaq that is pronounced three times at one go…It is done on three phases on three different occasions. It is not done at one go. Triple talaq at one throw does not disown a marriage. This is the statement of the Supreme Court. We accept this. We approve this. This is what the Shariat law even says. All the Muslims in the world accept this,” Rajah said.
The Shariat law says that at one go triple talaq should not be pronounced and problem arises when some Muslims do not follow this in principle. “You bring a legislation on these lines. We will accept it. But where is the criminal procedure on this? Why should there be criminal punishment? That’s why the Tamil Nadu Government has opposed this legislation,” he said. “You are implementing your item communal agenda. BJP is implementing its item communal agenda. You want to abolish the identity of Muslims in India. This Bill may be sent to the Parliamentary Standing Committee,” he said.
