BJP's masterstroke of triple talaq bill throws Opposition in "secularism" dilemma

Though the introduction of the bill in Parliament was followed by a huge uproar in the Rajya Sabha, the BJP certainly seems to be successful in "unmasking" the Opposition over their stand as they are caught in a crossroad.

The making of the bill by the Centre is preceded by the Supreme Court's directive which clearly passed an order last year against the practice and also asked the central government to make law as early as possible. The Centre, leaving no opportunity to cast an impression of tolerant Hindu party sensitive to the plight of Muslim women, tabled the bill in the temple of democracy by the end of 2017.

Now what is Triple Talaq bill? Not going far into the details of the bill, it aims at abolishing a form of unilateral oral divorce to Muslim women by their husbands by uttering the word "talaq" thrice, a practice which is not prevalent in Islamic nations. This context itself has caught the Opposition in a conflicting scenario.

In a landmark verdict in favour of the Muslim women in India, who were fighting to scrap the practice of instant triple talaq, the Supreme Court of India on Aug 22 said the practice is unconstitutional and illegal.

In a 3:2 majority verdict, the apex court said Triple Talaq is unconstitutional and illegal since it is in violation of Article 14 of the Indian Constitution guaranteeing equality before the law.

It has thus been struck down in effect.

The five-judge bench comprised Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, Justice Kurian Joseph, Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman, Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and Justice S Abdul Nazeer. The panel of five judges represent different faiths - Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.

While the petitioner in the landmark case is 36-year-old Shayara Bano, the campaign to end triple talaq or polygamy in the Muslim society was spearheaded by Zakia Soman, the 50 plus co-founder of Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA, the other founder of which is Noorjehan Safia Niaz).

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier said he would try to give justice to the Muslim women even though some Muslim bodies like the Muslim Law Board are opposing it.

Two main petitioners, Zakia Soman and Shayara Bano, even welcomed the Supreme Court's declaration of instant Triple Talaq (oral divorce to Muslim women by their husbands) as "unconstitutional" by a 3:2 majority verdict.

If it may seem that the bill  is all good for the Muslim women then why the  Opposition would oppose it or create a fuss on the enactment by the BJP-ruled central government. After all, idealistically the Opposition wanted the BJP to be secular, isn't it? But politics is a fierce battle and the story begins here.

Though the bill has been accepted by Muslim women, several Muslim law boards have opposed to it and even extended to criticise the move by the central government citing that instant talaq is an internal matter of the religion. If Prime Minister speaks in favour of "One India, One Rule", he is intruding into the personal laws of Muslim community, Muslim heads hinted.

While the BJP, by speaking in favour of ban on triple talaq, made super electoral gains in 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election by securing the Muslim women votes of the state, none of the Opposition parties is in a mood to give a free pass to the ruling party.

But major Opposition parties of the country like Congress, Trinamool, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party are looking confused as to which way to go. While they are not opposing the bill, may be in fear of losing the votes of Muslim women, the parties are crying for review in the Select Committee as they feel the bill consists of errors, in what many say is an attempt to pacify the hardline sections of Muslim community.

Whether the Opposition's "minority appeasement and pseudo-secular" nature have been exposed or not is debatable, it is sure from the two day proceedings in the House that the Opposition is derailed on the issue.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley attacked the principal opposition party, Congress, over its stand on triple talaq bill which was tabled in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday triggering an uproar.

The Congress, though not opposing the bill, asked the government to send it to the select committee for changes.

Jaitley termed Congress' demand to refer the bill to the select committee as invalid.

Citing Rule 70 (sub-rule 2a), Congress MP Anand Sharma tried to justify the Opposition's demand to refer the bill to the select committee.

Countering Congress for not following the parliamentary procedures, Jaitley said the whole country "is watching that in the other House you supported the Bill and here you are trying to derail it."

"Now, we are taken by surprise that we all assemble here after 3 PM, a motion is suddenly submitted to us. For the first time breaking all parliamentary convention and procedures, an invalid motion is moved" he added.

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said her party supports the bill but it is full of errors which will put Muslim wives in trouble. Trinamool MP Derek O' Brien too sounded similar to her chief in the Rajya Sabha.

Above all politics, it seems the triple talaq bill is in a state of limbo presently. Though the passage of the bill was just a matter of time for the BJP in Lok Sabha, the Opposition is expected to give a tough time to the ruling BJP in the Upper House as it lacks the number.

With Akali Dal's 3 votes, BJP could secure 60 votes in Rajya Sabha but all that will be much below the required number. Congress' 57, AIADMK's 13 and Trinamool's 12 MPs in Rajya Sabha has already put the bill in the logjam.

BJP has also a sense of worry as several of its state allies like JD(U), Shiv Sena have joined the Opposition in favour of sending the bill to the Select Committee.

Also it should not be forgotten that several bills in recent times in both the houses including Goods and Services Tax (GST) were passed with the support of the Opposition, so consensus over the triple talaq bill is not an impossible task.

The present political imbroglio over triple talaq also reminds one the events in 1986 when the Supreme Court had upheld the right to alimony in the case of Shah Bano, a 62 year old Muslim woman and mother of five from Indore, but the then Rajiv Gandhi government chickened out in the election year and compromised with the Muslim fundamentalists.

The Congress government of Rajiv Gandhi reversing the apex court judgement had enacted a law which said the right to maintenance is only for the period of iddat (period of waiting for Muslim women after a divorce or demise of husband) after the divorce, thus shifting the onus of maintaining her to her relatives or the Wakf Board.