Don't miss opportunity to empower women: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asked the Congress to support the triple talaq bill reminding the grand old party how it missed two such opportunities to empower women in the past.

The triple talaq bill that seeks to criminalise the practice of instant divorce among Muslims has been stuck in Parliament for over two years following objections from the Congress that had prompted the government to make certain changes.

“The Supreme Court had given you the opportunity in the Shah Bano case. But, the Congress had reached such a height that it failed to see an opportunity for reform,” Modi said.

Similar opportunities to empower women were also missed in the 1950s when the Uniform Civil Code was being debated, Modi said.

“Now is the third chance where they can support the triple talaq bill,” Modi said.

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Friday amid strong objections from the Opposition that forced a vote.

The Congress, which was doing a delicate balancing act on the issue by contending that it was opposed to the practice of instant divorce but had reservations on certain provisions of the bill, was forced to vote against the bill.

Modi hit out at the Congress accusing it of practising politics of appeasement. “It is not the responsibility of Congress to reform the Muslims. If they want to lie in the gutter, let them be,” Modi quoted a former Congress minister as advising the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.