New Delhi: Hyderabad MP and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday objected to introduction of triple talaq bill by raking up the Sabarimala issue. The lawmaker asserted that the bill would give way to different duration of punishment for a Muslim and a non-Muslim man, leading to violation of Articles 14 and 15.
"The classification is not in any way linked to the purported object of the bill. If you see the punishment, then a non-Muslim gets punishment for a year and Muslim would get for three years. This is against Articles 14 and 15," Owaisi said in Lok Sabha, adding that the bill is also not beneficial for women.
"The bill will not benefit the Muslim women as it puts the burden of proof on women. The husband will be three years in jail then who is going to pay for the maintenance? Are you going to give money for the maintenance? This is against rational nexus," he said.
"The Bill is in violation of Constitution's Articles. The Constitution lays down that if we make a discriminatory law, we will have to satisfy two tests — intelligible differentia and rational nexus. In this case, the Supreme Court has already said that the marriage is not going to end. We have the Domestic Violence Act, the Muslim Women protection Act 1986. Hence, your bill doesn't satisfy intelligible differentia," the MP added.
Owaisi further raked up the Sabaimala issue and asked why didn't the government show same kind of sentiments for Hindu women in Kerala. "Through this I would like to ask the government that they have all the love for Muslim women. Why don't they have the same sentiment for Hindu women of Kerala? Why are you against Sabrimala?" he questioned.
The lawmaker was joined by Shashi Tharoor, MP Thiruvananthapuram and NK Premachandran MP Kollam, who found the Bill to be in contravention of the Constitution.
Tharoor and Premachandra found the bill to be criminalising only Muslim men, “This bill criminalizes Muslim husbands, It is a class legislation. Abandoning of wives is not just about any one community. Why not work on a Bill that universalizes action against abandoning of wives."
Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the Constitution gives the right to frame laws for the protection of women and children, and pushed for the urgency of the Bill by saying that since the introduction of the Ordinance and Supreme Court verdict there have still been triple talaq cases.
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