Jamiat leader says Centre using triple talaq bill for own benefit

New Delhi [India], Jan 3 (ANI): As the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill 2017 was tabled in the Rajya Sabha amid huge uproar, Muslim cleric and general secretary of the Muslim organisation - Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, Maulana Mehmood Madani, on Wednesday accused the Centre of using the bill for its own benefit.

Speaking to ANI, Maulana Mehmood Madani said the ruling dispensation was using the bill to diverge the attention of the people from the main issues.

"This is not even an issue. The cases of instant triple talaq are very less. It seems like the Centre is using the bill for its own benefit. So, I don't think this effort would benefit the Muslim women. It is not a legal reform but a matter of social reform. It is a calculated step to deviate the people from the core issue," he said.

Stating that they would oppose the bill, the cleric further said the decision to enact a law against triple talaq could be a right decision, but the intention of the government was not right at all.

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill 2017, which seeks to criminalise instant triple talaq, was tabled in the Rajya Sabha by Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, earlier in the day.

However, a united Opposition, led by the Congress party, moved a notice to refer the bill to a select committee.

A pandemonium broke out in the Upper House soon after which led to the Rajya Sabha getting adjourned till 11 am tomorrow.

The bill was earlier passed in the Lok Sabha with most of the leading parties in the Opposition, including the Congress, voting in favour, but with caveats.

The bill, if enacted, will make triple talaq a criminal offence. It proposes a three-year jail term for a Muslim man who divorces his wife in any form of spoken, written or by electronic means such as email, SMS, and WhatsApp. (ANI)