Congress party leader and president of Mahila Congress, Sushmita Dev, on Thursday said that party would scrap the triple talaq law if it comes to power in 2019.
The triple talaq law criminalises the Muslim practice of instant divorce.
Speaking at the AICC minorities convention, Dev said, “I promise that the Congress party will come to power in 2019 and will scrap the Triple Talaq law. The law is just another weapon of the Modi government to arrest and harass Muslim men and put them in prison,” Dev said.”
Sushmita Dev, Congress at at AICC minority department national convention in Delhi: Main aap logon se vaada karti hoon, ki Congress ki sarkar ayegi 2019 mein aur hum iss Triple Talaq kanoon ko khaarij karenge. Yeh aap logon se vaada hai. pic.twitter.com/jkskEGXAiD
— ANI (@ANI) February 7, 2019
The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha during the Winter Session of Parliament in 2018 and is yet to be passed in Rajya Sabha.
“Many people told us that this law is for the empowerment of Muslim women but we opposed it because it is a weapon used by BJP against Muslim men so that he could be harassed by the police,” She added,
This comment immediately attracted a backlash from the ruling party. “The Congress says it will repeal the triple talaq law. What a regressive thought! They have no regard for the Supreme Court,” BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said.
Speaking at the same event, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said “This nation belongs to every citizen of India. This is a conflict between two ideologies. Minority communities have worked on every step to build this nation. This nation has been built by people of every religion. This nation belongs to all.”