- Friday, February 28, 2025
Modi also spoke in favour of a uniform civil code, highlighting that a country cannot function with two separate sets of laws.
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (27) lashed out at the opposition parties accusing them of engaging in “vote bank politics” and pursuing a “policy of appeasement” while addressing booth-level workers of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bhopal, the capital of the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh which will go to polls later this year.
Condemning the practice of ‘triple talaq’ (form of divorce practised in Islam whereby a man can dissolve his marriage in minutes by uttering talaq three times), Modi said that those who support it are committing a grave injustice against Muslim women.
The prime minister also questioned why countries such as Pakistan, Indonesia, and Bangladesh, which have significant Muslim populations, do not allow triple talaq if it is an essential tenet of Islam. He emphasised that advocating for triple talaq harms Muslim daughters and ruins entire families.
“Whoever talks in favour of triple talaq, whoever advocates it, those vote bank hungry people are doing a great injustice to Muslim daughters. Triple talaq doesn’t just do injustice to daughters. It is beyond this; the whole family get ruined. If it has been a necessary tenet of Islam, then why was it banned in countries like Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh,” he said.
Modi also spoke in favour of a uniform civil code, highlighting that a country cannot function with two separate sets of laws. He stressed that the Indian Constitution guarantees equal rights to all citizens and cited Part 4, Article 44, which mandates the state to provide a uniform civil code throughout India. He accused the opposition of playing vote bank politics by opposing the implementation of a uniform civil code, despite the Supreme Court’s recommendation to do so.
The uniform civil code calls for formulation of a single law for India, which would be applicable to all religious communities in issues such as marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption.
Furthermore, Modi urged the Muslim community to recognise political parties that exploit them for their own gains. He claimed that some parties provoke Muslims and use appeasement politics to divide the country.
He expressed concern for Pasmanda Muslims who have been left behind and called on BJP members to educate and engage with the Muslim community to prevent them from falling victim to divisive politics.
“Pasmanda Muslims have become a victim of politics. Some people are using the politics of appeasement to break the country. The BJP cadre should go and explain this to the Muslims and educate them so that they do not fall victim to such politics,” he said.
Pasmanda Muslims are a backward community which constitute a major part of the Indian population.
(With ANI inputs)
