Joining the debate on triple talaq, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that the particular system of divorce has ruined the lives of Muslim women and parties should not politicize the issue for the sake of votes as it concerned the dignity of women.
“Is it fair for a man to say ‘talaq’ thrice over the phone and divorce his wifeIJ Has anyone ever given a thought to those women whose life is ruinedIJ” he asked while addressing a public rally in Mahoba on Monday.
Modi reiterated that it was not a matter of Hindu and Muslim, but it was the issue of dignity of women.
“Please don’t make triple talaq a political issue. I am surprised that for votes, some parties want to keep Muslim women bereft of their fundamental rights,” Modi said.
Calling this a development issue, Modi said, “I request people participating in TV debates, not to give women rights a Muslim-Hindu orientation. The debate should be between Muslims experts wanting reforms and those who oppose them. There should be a transparent debate to clearly identify the proponents and supporters of triple talaq.”
“In democracy, there should be discussion. The Government has put forward its position. Those who want to digress from triple talaq are instigating people…in the country, lives of Muslim women cannot be allowed to be ruined by triple talaq,” said the PM.
In the same breath, the Prime Minister spoke about the prevalence of female foeticide among Hindus. ‘’Anyone killing a girl child before birth will go to jail. The Government’s ‘Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao’ initiative is yielding good results. We are also committed to filling the gender gap,” Modi said.
The PM blamed previous Bahujan Samaj Party and the present Samajwadi Party for the backwardness of Uttar Pradesh, particularly in Bundelkhand region. He said that only the BJP Government in the State can convert Uttar Pradesh into ‘Uttam Pradesh’.
“UP has given many PMs to the nation. The State has a claim on me as well. And I want to do more work than all those PMs put together,” he said while appealing to the people to break the ongoing cycle of power between the SP and the BSP.
Modi was very critical of the SP Government saying that the Centre has released money for development of Bundelkhand but only 40 per cent of that fund has reached villages.
“This land is our mother and we won’t let our mother be looted anymore,” he said and compared the works done in the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh in its part of Bundelkhand with that falling in UP. The PM informed that MP has completed most of the projects while UP has not even started yet.
Explaining why people should support the BJP in the coming elections, Modi said, “On one side there is a party which is fire-fighting to save the family, another is trying to grab power so that they can continue their misdeeds. The third is the BJP, which is trying to protect the State and its people,” he said.
“If you want to prosper you need to get out of this trap of SP and BSP. Both parties loot in their own turns, and when one comes to power they never take action against the other even after announcing it,” Modi said while pointing out that the two parties keep sharing power and the people face the brunt.
However, the PM also said that the situation in UP was similar to 2014 polls when people had a clear-cut opinion and thus voted en masse for the BJP. “This time too, people will support the BJP and we will form a majority Government,” he said.
Focusing on the potential of Bundelkhand region and its people, the PM said that the region is backward only due to political ineffectiveness by previous Union and State Governments. “The mafia rule here and they get all the projects only on paper while the people suffer,” he alleged.
Modi appreciated Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti, who was present there, for her ambitious project to link Betwa and Kane rivers in Bundelkhand.
“The project, when completed, will change the condition of farmers and people and the land will harvest gold,” he said. “This land of Bundelkhand is special - it has shown its calibre with sword and creativity with pen,” he added.
While starting his address, Modi also asked citizens of the country to send their wishes to jawans and security personnel on the border on the occasion of Diwali. “This Diwali, I have requested the citizens to dedicate a message for all our jawans and security forces,” he said.
The rally was also addressed by Uma Bharti and State BJP president Keshav Prasad Maurya.