End triple talaq; won't allow discrimination: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday opposed the practice of triple talaq (divorce by uttering the word talaq three times in one go) and said that this practice should stop.

“Muslim women should have equal rights....how can any one say talaq thrice on telephone and ruin the lives of  Muslim women,” Modi said, while addressing a rally at Mahoba, about 300 km from here.

He also urged the media not to turn the issue of triple talaq into a religious one.

“We will not allow discrimination against Muslim women in the name of religion,” he added. It is the prime minister’s first remark on the contentious issue.

Modi also referred to the ongoing family feud within the Samajwadi Party (SP) and said that the people of the state should throw the SP and the BSP out and instead support the BJP. “One party is bothered about family while another party is only concerned with grabbing power....we are concerned about the development of UP,” the prime minister said.

He said that both the BSP and the SP have looted the state and have done little for its development. “We want to make Uttar Pradesh Uttam (good) Pradesh,” he added.

Modi exuded confidence that the BJP will form the next government in the state after the upcoming Assembly polls, which is due early next year. The prime minister claimed that the Centre provided enough funds to both Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh for the development of the arid Bundelkhand region. “While Madhya Pradesh has used the funds properly, in Uttar Pradesh the funds have not been used properly,” he said.