Congress must change their regressive mindset: PM Modi on triple talaq

After the triple talaq bill failed to get passed in the Rajya Sabha, where Bharatiya Janata Party lacks majority, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that Congress should end their "regressive mindset" and view the issue from the prism of women empowerment.

"The Congress party or any party that indulges in vote bank politics must get out of this regressive mindset and think from the point of view of women empowerment and respect for women," the Prime Minister said in an interview with English News channel Times Now.

"If they (Congress) insult us regarding Goods and Service Tax, it is still fine. When it comes to a poor Muslim woman at stake - I am sure they feel bad from inside but politics and thirst for power maybe make them do this," added PM Modi.

PM Modi further asserted that triple talaq was not a religious issue.

"How women would look after their children, what would they do? They needed to be empowered. Muslim women had to be given their rights. It is not a religious issue," said the Prime Minister.

"Even the strongest people were moved to tears by the condition of those women who were affected by triple talaq. They needed to be saved; this was not a political move or a move to corner anybody. It was a move to let everyone live with dignity," said PM Modi.

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017 that seeks to criminalise instant divorce, triple talaq was passed in the Lok Sabha with most of the leading parties in the Opposition, including the Congress, voting in favour, but with caveats.

However, the Bill was stalled in the Rajya Sabha where the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies are in a minority.

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.