Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday said the Ordinance against instant triple talaq is unjust, unconstitutional and should be challenged.
Mr. Owaisi was addressing a gathering of media persons at party headquarters in Darussalaam where he said that the Bharatiya Janata Party cleared the Ordinance to divert attention from important issues which have beset citizens of the country.
“This Ordinance is against Muslim women. Instead of giving them justice, it is going to give some men an opportunity to treat women unfairly. Time and again we have repeated that marriage is a civil contract. A criminal provision in this is wrong and uncalled for,” he said.
Mr. Owaisi, who is a member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, said that while a decision on the issue yet to be taken by the pan-India Muslim panel, it is his opinion that the Ordinance must be challenged in a court of law.
The Hyderabad parliamentarian claimed the Ordinance is discriminatory as it prescribes a three-year prison term for a Muslim man, if convicted, while for people of other faiths, the period of conviction per other laws is much lesser. The need of the hour, he said, is to introduce a law to tackle desertion by the husbands of 24 lakh women in the country.
Mr. Owaisi claimed that the BJP is indulging in attention diversion as its ‘ship’ in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh is ‘sinking’. He also said that the BJP is seeking to drown out more pressing issues such as the hike in fuel prices, lack of job creation, Rafale deal and the situation in Kashmir by approving the Ordinance.
