Ravi Shankar Prasad told NDTV that the government wants triple "talaq" practice to go completely
A day after his comments on triple talaq made headlines in the backdrop of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told NDTV that ideally, the government wants it to be abolished completely and not settle for the traditional three-month reconciliation period stipulated by Shariat.
"The ideal (situation) would be that triple talaq should go... if the 3-month period is allowed to go it can go, but will the discrimination continue thereafter?" Mr Prasad said. "The world over, divorce with mutual consent is the norm."
While triple talaq -- the practice of Muslim men getting an instant divorce by saying "talaq" thrice - has come under intense criticism from the courts and the civil society, the elections in Uttar Pradesh, a state with a sizeable population of Muslims, has brought in under political scrutiny again.
The opposition has accused the Law Minister of playing up the issue to influence voting in Uttar Pradesh. The seven-phase election will start in the state from February 11.
The Supreme Court is currently hearing several petitions on triple talaq. Women have alleged that they were being divorced via Facebook, Skype and WhatsApp. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken on the issue, saying the government could not allow the lives of Muslim women to be ruined by triple talaq.
Admitting that it was an election issue for his party, Mr Prasad dared the state's ruling Samajwadi Party, its ally Congress, and Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party to make their stands clear.
"The government had conveyed this to the Supreme Court in its affidavit more than 3 months ago, even before the elections were announced. I am not shifting the goalposts, they are," Mr Prasad said of the opposition.
"Uttar Pradesh is a big state. A lot of Muslim women come from that state. They have complained about Triple Talaq. Many of them have shared stories of victimisation," he said.
The law minister added, "We respect freedom of religion and faith. But every pernicious practice can't be part of religion. Twenty countries have abolished or regulated triple talaq. Even Islamic countries have banned it."