Prime Minister Narendra Modi has of late spoken repeatedly against the practice of Triple Talaq among the Muslims and the Supreme Court's historic verdict delivered on August 22 putting a bar on it for six months till the parliament passes a legislation is certainly going to give a major boost to his party and government in thriving towards a New India.
The apex court's verdict will have significant political ramifications. On one hand, it could bolster the BJP's old ideology of executing a uniform civil code throughout the country and secondly, the scope of indulgence in secular politics by the Opposition to counter Modi could be over.
Will BJP lose its communal tag now?
The top court's decision will polarise the Muslim society like never before and the idea of the community voting en masse against the 'communal' BJP will be permanently over. For the Congress and other regional parties that have been projecting themselves as the messiah of the minority community, this will be a deadly blow.
Moreover, since the Supreme Court has expected that all political parties should set aside their differences and work towards the legislation, it means the secular parties will have to 'kill' their favourite political ploy in full knowledge.
Once the Modi government successfully passes the legislation banning the practice, the prime minister has every chance to emerge as the real messiah of the Muslim women who made a substantial change in their lives. For the saffron party, it will be a decisive game-changer.
More confrontation between BJP and people like Owaisi likely
On the other side, while the Supreme Court's verdict will render the pseudo-secular politics toothless, it will also bring outspoken Muslim leaders like Asaduddin Owaisi and other community law bodies that support the practice and oppose the idea of uniform civil code into more confrontation with the Hindutva forces.
However, chances are high that Owaisi, who in the past, compared triple talaq as an exclusive culture like the Jallikattu sport in Tamil Nadu and urged the Muslims to unite in protest just like the Tamil people had done for Jallikattu, would have a greater chance of losing his face.
The humanisation of the Triple Talaq issue and the questioning of constitutional freedom in case it affects the citizens' welfare is where the Modi government has made an impact and for those who have followed a policy of appeasement vis-a-vis the minorities over the years, this could be a permanent blow.
