New Delhi: Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi lashed out at Congress for opposing the instant Triple-talaq Bill in Rajya Sabha while confidently stating the Bill will surely pass in the coming Budget session of the Parliament assuring that BJP’s allies Like TDP and AIAMDK would give their nod to the Bill.
“Acting in haste, under the influence of a handful of people who gave confusing logic, these allies may have opposed us. But in the coming session (which begins on January 29), they will be with us,” Naqvi said.
The minister said the central government was open to discussing the other relevant issues regarding the Bill over allowance for women whose Husband’s are sent to Jail.
“Be it the Congress or any other opposition party, anyone could have made a suggestion rather than hijacking the bill. No law is final. The government would not have closed its ears for amendments,” he said.
However, Naqvi defended the clause in the bill that proposes jail term and makes the instant triple talaq a criminal offence. He asked, “Why should he (accused husband) do such a crime that he is sent to jail?”.
Labelling Congress as “All India Confused Party”, Naqvi said the opposition party is a confused party and contradicts its own values saying, “In Gujarat they visited mandirs and in UP they talked about masjid.
Unka haal aisa hai: na Khuda hi mila na visal-e-sanam, na idhar ke rahe na udhar ke (Their state is such that they are neither here nor there). They are simply repeating the mistake of 1986 (when the Rajiv Gandhi-led Congress government circumvented the Supreme Court order in the Shah Bano maintenance case),” he said.
Opining that 99% of today’s Muslims feel the practice is illegal and against teachings of Islam he said times have changed since 1986 and now the Government will intervene if it finds an action or practice illegal.
When asked if the government plans to shift its focus on another Muslim Practice that is ‘Halala’ which makes it mandatory for the woman to marry another person, consummate the marriage and divorce in order to remarry her first husband, Naqvi responded saying, “Our first suggestion is that such changes should happen within the community to weed out any social evil. But if we feel any practice is cruel, we will take action.”
Naqvi who has also studied in a madrasa reacted to Shia Waqf Board chief ‘s opinion of shutting down madrasas in India. He said, “Madarsas have largely had good history. Isolated cases that had problems must be corrected. But to say that all madarsas are anti-national is wrong,” Naqvi said. “They need reforms…training in science, maths, computers. In UP, more than 90% of the madarsas have registered themselves. Our focus for madarsas is (providing) teacher, tiffin and toilet,” ET reported.