Triple talaq attack on Muslims, says Asaduddin Owaisi

Hyderabad: The passing of the triple talaq Bill in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, making the practice a criminal offence, has shocked many as the Central government did not have the numbers and it was abstention from voting or not attending the House by various parties that enabled the government to push through the Bill.

MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, a vocal critic of the Bill, said, “Triple Talaq Bill should be seen as one part of the many attacks on Muslim identity and citizenship since 2014. Mob violence, police atrocities and mass incarceration won’t bog us down. With a firm belief in the Constitution we have withstood oppression, injustice and denial of our rights.”

Mr Owaisi said the existing laws provided stringent and comprehensive safeguards to all women, regardless of faith. Laws against domestic violence, for example, provide many remedies for women who have faced verbal, emotional or physical abuse in a domestic relationship.

Mr Owaisi said, “It is a testing time for those who believe in the rule of law and the guarantees of non-arbitrariness, freedom of religion and right to distinct culture enshrined in the Constitution. With sabr and our resolute faith in Allah, we will overcome these challenges.”

He did not immediately react to the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, an ally, not voting against the Bill.

There is a backlash against the TRS for not voting against the Bill.

Maulana H.S. Jaffer Pasha, a senior cleric in Hyderabad, said, “The passage of the Bill is a reality but we must keep the Sharia in mind. With Nikah being in the Sharia law it is very important that the problems also be solved in the manner of sharia only. Muslims must not opt for court or the legal system to resolve their problems and make a mockery of the sharia laws.”

There is a backlash against the TRS for not voting against the bill. Mubashir, a Hyderabadi, said, “I will unfollow each TRS handle from today. They have lost my support.”

Abu Bilal, also from Hyderabad, said, “The TRS has lost all respect. They have back stabbed Muslims. We will show you in the coming municipal elections.”

This was echoed by many people in Hyderabad who were upset with the TRS and tweeted that they were never going to vote for or trust the TRS again.

Moulana Mohammed Ilyas Khateeb Hari Masjid of  Sultan Bazaar, commenting on the policy adopted by the TRS on core Muslim issues, said Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao was sailing in two boats.

He avoided supporting Muslims openly. He was neither showing his relationship with the BJP nor refuting it.

“Mr Chandrasekhar Rao may think that if he supports the stand taken by the Muslims on triple talaq then he will lose the Hindu votes, which is a wrong assumption. Contrary to the TRS, the YSRCP stand on the bill is clear. We Muslims realise that the TRS is not a secular party and Mr Rao is afraid of the BJP.”