Triple talaq bill being used as political tool: CPI-M MP

CPI-M Lok Sabha Member Mohammed Salim on Thursday said the Narendra Modi government is using the triple talaq bill as a political tool and in reality, it is not sincere towards the welfare of the Muslim community.

He emphasised that the Bill must be sent to a Joint Select Committee of Parliament for scrutiny as it is "based on false premises".

"If you do not do justice with the country, with its citizens, if there are human rights violations... Muslims are also part of this society (and hence suffer).

"If you will make Muslim men second class citizens, you will take away their right to speak, right to eat, right to pray, such as (recent police order barring Namaz in parks and other public spaces) in Noida, you are snatching these rights and saying that you want to do justice to Muslim women. These are crocodile tears," Salim said.

Taking a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs, he said he would not speak on Quran, hadith, shariat as the "BJP people are sufficient for that".

"But the question is, if you want to give justice to Muslim women...you are naming this bill as protection of rights of Muslim women, but there would be no protection of rights of Muslim women because Muslim women are part of the Muslim community," he said.

"All this discussion is being done to divert attention from the real issues," he said, and demanded to know as to why the present government had pushed the Sachar Committee recommendations for the uplift of minorities to back burner.

"Daman par lahu ke dagh jhoote ashko se dhule nahi jayenge (The stains of blood on your sleeve will not be washed away with false tears)," Salim said.

--IANS

mak/nir