On triple talaq verdict, Ravi Shankar said, "this is Modi government, not Rajiv Gandhi government."
BJP chief Amit Shah on Tuesday said the Supreme Court's ban on the controversial practice of triple talaq is a "historic decision," and praised the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government for effectively presenting the case of Muslim women in the top court.
"This is the beginning of New India," said Mr Shah, also stating, "This judgement is not about anyone's victory or defeat. This is the victory of the basic constitutional rights of Muslim women and their right to live with equality."
PM Modi tweeted, "Judgment of the Hon'ble SC on Triple
Talaq is historic. It grants equality to Muslim women and is a powerful measure for women empowerment."
In court, PM Modi's government backed the women who petitioned against triple
talaq, saying the practice of allowing men to divorce their wives simply by uttering "
talaq" or divorce three times was unconstitutional and derogatory for women.
In public speeches, PM Modi said it was the responsibility of the government and the people of the country to ensure justice for Muslim women. "I heartily commend those sisters who have launched this movement, who have been fighting against 'triple
talaq' and I am confident that the country will help them in this struggle," the Prime Minister said just last week in his Independence Day address from Delhi's iconic Red Fort.
"I am proud of Narendra Modi
ji. He stood firmly behind those who are victims of triple
talaq. And let me say this is Narendra Modi government, not Rajiv Gandhi government,'' said Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday. It was a swipe at the Congress, whose government under former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had used its big majority to bring a law that set aside a Supreme Court order granting alimony to Muslim women in the Shah Bano case in 1985. It had done so after fierce opposition from influential Muslim leaders who said the court's verdict was against Muslim law.
The Congress did not respond to the minister's jibe. It provoked allegations of hypocrisy by praising Tuesday's Supreme Court verdict as "a progressive, secular judgement for equal rights of Muslim women in India."
"Welcome the Supreme Court decision setting aside instant #TripleTalaq. I congratulate the women who fought for justice," tweeted Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi's son.
One of the Congress' senior most leaders, Kapil Sibal, was the lawyer for the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), which oversees how Muslim personal law is applied and had opposed banning the triple
talaq. Mr Sibal argued in court that the triple
talaq was a matter of faith that judges must not interfere with and also that the "practice is sinful, but legal."
On Tuesday, he said he welcomed the verdict and that it was not a setback. "We hail the judgement, it protects personal laws and at the same time deprecates the practice of triple
talaq," Mr Sibal said.
The AIMPLB accuses the BJP government of working to diminish Islamic influence in society. Other critics like Muslim leader Asaduddin Owaisi have accused PM Modi of supporting a ban on triple
talaq to win approval and votes from Muslim women and chip away at an important bloc of voters that has thus far viewed the BJP with suspicion.
The BJP has for years pushed for a uniform civil code to be enforced which would end the reach of different religious laws in civil issues, sanctioned originally to protect the independence of different faiths.
Triple
talaq is banned in several Muslim countries, including in Pakistan.