Hyderabad: Mufti Khalid Saifullah Rahamani, secretary and spokesperson of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), the apex body of Indian Muslims, on Thursday that the Centre had brought in the ordinance against triple talaq through the back door.
He said the issue was “not very important” and the ordinance had been issued where there was room for making legislation democratically after considering public opinion.
He was addressing mediapersons along with MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi and other members of the Personal Law Board.
Calling the ordinance “murder of democracy” and an “insult to Parliament,” he said the Ordinance was “unacceptable” to Muslims and claimed that Muslim women had already rejected it.
Asked whether the board would challenge the ordinance in the court, he said the board’s legal committee would look into it as the ordinance would lapse in six months.
He said criminalisation of triple talaq would result in an increase in the number of women deserted by their husbands.
Mufti Rahamani said that the Centre had tried to bring a Bill in Parliament which was interference with the Shariat and was against the rights of women.
Reminding that the Supreme Court had set aside triple talaq, board secretary asked, “When you are saying that when a man gives triple talaq it will not come into effect, for what are you sending him to jail for three years?"
He said that if the Centre had accepted the demand of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and referred the Bill to a select committee, it would have given the community or its representative organisations like AIMPLB an opportunity to put forth their view. Mr Owaisi said that the Supreme Court did not hold triple talaq as unconstitutional; it has only set it aside. Citing the verdicts of the Supreme Court on gay sex and adultery, he said that the apex court had ruled Sections 377 and 497 as unconstitutional and asked whether the Modi government would learn from these judgements and take back the “unconstitutional” ordinance on triple talaq.
He said that the ordinance specified punishment for a Muslim man at three years of jail for the offence of triple talaq, but the punishment for a Hindu man was one year in the same decree, and asked for the reason for this discrimination.
Moulana Raheemuddin Ansari, AIMPLB member, said that a protest meet against would be held at Darussalam with all Muslim bodies including the Tameer-e-Millat and United Muslim Front on Friday evening.
