CPI(M) links triple talaq bill with Sabarimala issue, questions govt's 'ulterior motive'

Taking a dig at the government over the triple talaq bill, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Friday questioned why the BJP's concern towards women was missing on the Sabarimala issue.

"If women's equality is the concern what about all others abandoned by their husbands? Why is BJP opposing the implementation of the SC verdict on Sabarimala temple giving equal rights to women?" he tweeted.

The BJP has extended support to devotees opposed to the entry of women in menstruating age group into the shrine in Sabarimala in Kerala, where the Left Democratic Front government has said it is trying to implement a Supreme Court order allowing women of all ages to enter the temple.

No women in the 10-50 age group has been able to enter the temple since the September 28 Supreme Court order.

Yechury said the BJP's refusal to sent the triple talaq bill to a select committee of Parliament reeked of an "ulterior motive".

"Law making is a serious issue. That is why proposed legislations are examined by parliamentary committees. BJP's refusal smacks of an ulterior motive of using the triple talaq issue to just target one community and not concerns of women's equality," he said.

Lok Sabha passed the bill for the second time in less than a year after a heated debate on Thursday. Its passage in the upper house is likely to be a difficult task as the government lacks a majority there.

Yechury, addressing a sit-in demonstration at Jantar Mantar in Delhi organised by 10 Left and democratic parties of Assam, demanding the immediate withdrawal of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and inclusion of all Indians in NRC, said citizenship cannot be exclusive for just one community.

"We must never lose sight of the fact that all citizens of India are equal, irrespective of faith, caste, creed, colour or gender. We will only be guided by our Constitution in this regard," he said.