Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Saturday that the government may take a major step to ban the Islamic practice of triple talaq, which falls under Sharia law, after the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
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"The government may take a major step to ban triple talaq after the UP Assembly polls," the Union Law Minister said. The central government is committed to end the "evil social practice," he said, adding that it will raise the issue in Supreme Court on three points.
The Supreme Court had in 2016 take suo moto cognisance of the issue after multiple women had filed cases against their ex-husbands for leaving them in a lurch.
Prasad said that the tradition denies respect to women and needs to be banned. However, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board has argued that triple talaq falls under Sharia law and minority communities have the right to practice their religion without interference. They have argued that the intervention of the Centre or the apex court is unconstitutional.
They have also levelled charges against the Centre for trying to implement uniform civil code in the country, making a homogeneous law applicable to every Indian citizen. The UCC can be seen by minorities as an erasure of their identities since it prevents them from following their particular cultural codes of conduct in the civil life in some instances like marriage and property laws.
"We are the only party which respects women. Neither do other parties offer a good place to women nor do they respect them," Prasad said. He added that the matter was not related to religion, but about respecting women's dignity.
"The government respects faith but worship and social evil cannot coexist," he added.
He also took a dig at the Bahujan Samaj Party, which is headed by a woman, and said it should rise above caste politics and respect women.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Modi also said that women are fearful of leaving their homes post 7 pm in Uttar Pradesh due to the deteriorating law and order situation. He blamed the politicians for sheltering goons and getting away with impunity.
