NEW DELHI: Muslim body Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) on Thursday rejected the Triple Talaq Bill, calling it “meaningless”. It also questioned the government’s intention on the Uniform Civil Code.
“If the government is serious about bringing a Uniform Civil Code, why doesn’t it come with a draft of such a legislation and put it in the public domain for open discussion and suggestions?” JIH president Maulana Jalaluddin Umari said.
“They keep using it to frighten the minorities, but in reality can they bring a uniform code for such a diverse population with numerous ethnicities, tribes, religions and belief systems and cultures and traditions.”
Criticising the Triple Talaq Bill, Umari said, “It is against the rights of women as there are many cases where a Muslim wife wants to get rid of her husband immediately. She does not want to continue being his wife even for a day. She wants her freedom by opting out of marriage with immediate effect. Are we not going to prolong her agony by bringing such a law?”
Umari also expressed concern over the process of enrollment in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, saying many genuine were being targeted. He alleged that the number of those declared as “foreigners” had “increased dramatically” after the BJP government came to power in Assam.
“If a person is accused of being a foreigner, then the onus of proof lies on the accused. But genuine citizens who are impoverished and could not maintain proper records are now facing the threat of being branded as foreigners… Jamaat expects that the government agencies entrusted with the task of preparing the list of legal citizens shall discharge their duty without bias,” Umari said.
