A questionnaire by the Law Commission is out in the open seeking to gauge public opinion on ‘triple talaq’ and other anti-women practices across religions. While the Muslim Personal Law Board is calling the questionnaire “fraud”, National Law Commission has maintained that it does not want “to force any majority view on minorities” and is thus seeking public opinion.
Triple talaq allows a Muslim man to divorce his wife by saying ‘talaq’ thrice to come out of a marital bond. There has been widespread criticism and debate over the issue of triple talaq in one sitting.
While coming out of marital relationship is a lot complicated, let’s take the liberty of using ‘triple talaq’ to divorce some politicians who have been blocking our lives and our television screens for way too long. Their comments about dividing India on the basis of religion, the jingoism that they offer, is nothing short of slander.
Sadhvi Prachi: The ferocious right-wing Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader has been at the centre of controversies. From remarks like “It’s time to rid India of Muslims” to calling politicians from opposition parties terrorists in Parliament, her speeches have always worked towards inciting hatred and violence. She even boycotted the Khans of Bollywood — Aamir, Salman and Shah Rukh — claiming that their films were spreading a culture of violence. She also urged Bajrangi Dal activists to tear posters of their films and burn them in Holi fire.
Sadhvi Prachi Unleashing Yogi Adityanath towards Pakistan to Chase down Beef eating terrorists.(2016) pic.twitter.com/EyfKiyXTeb
— #MufflerTiranga (@vipinxsharma) September 22, 2016
Asaduddin Owaisi: This All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader and member of Parliament is infamous for his hate speeches which aim to wage war and promote enmity among religious groups. Several FIRs have been registered against him for giving speeches that create terror and instill fear in the minds of one community. In a video released in 2014, Owaisi was seen spewing venom against Prime Minister Narendra Modi equating him with a dog.
Yogi Adityanath: The firebrand Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament has on several occasions made statements against Muslims for which he even had to apologise on the floor of the House. In a provocative video, he had said that if Muslims take one Hindu girl, “we will take 100 Muslims girls”. He is facing charges of inciting communal tension in his constituency Gorakhpur. He had also blamed the increasing population of Muslims for rise in communal violence in western UP.
Praveen Todgadia: Speaking on lines of creating religious divisions seems to be the agenda of this VHP leader. He drew flak when he blaming growing “impotency” of Hindu men for the decline in the community’s population in the country and exhorted them to “go home and worship manhood”. In a video, he was also counseling a group of people on how to aggressively keep Muslims from buying property in largely Hindu neighbourhoods in Gujarat. Modi had also gone on record to condemn Togadia’s statement.
Giriraj Singh: A BJP Member of Parliament from Nawada constituency in Bihar, Singh was booked for his hate speech while campaigning for the 2014 general election, saying that those who oppose Narendra Modi should go to Pakistan. He also stirred a controversy by questioning “why all terrorists belong to one community.” Commenting on Congress President, he had said, “Had Rajiv Gandhi married a Nigerian woman and had she not been of white skin, would the Congress party have accepted her as a leader?” The comment drew severe criticism even from BJP leaders.
Sangeet Som: In an explosive comment in Meerut, the controversial BJP MLA’s had said that there “the war is between Hindustan and Pakistan.” He has been accused of his involvement in the Muzaffarnagar riots that killed more than 50 people. He had also triggered a row by organising a march to show solidarity with Hindu families that allegedly migrated from Kairana in Uttar Pradesh for the fear of criminals.
WATCH: BJP MLA Sangeet Som says in Meerut, ‘ladai yahan(UP) Hindustan aur Pakistan ki hai’ (16/8/16)https://t.co/UKcI9CzdXH
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) August 18, 2016
Digvijaya Singh: The veteran leader of the Congress has on several occasions embarrassed his party by his callous remarks. His ‘sexist remarks’ against Congress MP from Mandsaur, Meenakshi Natrajan sparked a row when he called her “sau tunch maal”. He has also in the past alleged that the RSS imparts bomb-making training to its cadres claiming he was in possession of video clips of four VHP and RSS activists accepting that they were trained by Sangh in making bombs.
Raj Thackeray: The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader has never missed a chance to draw a line demarcating between Maharashtrians and ‘immigrants’ from other states. Blaming the ‘outsiders’ for chaos in the state, he had said, “the crowd is increasing like anything, and the outsiders coming to the city are responsible for this burden on the infrastructure.” He had also said that new immigrants should be denied entry into the city.
In a culturally rich India, politicians often divide communities on the basis of religious lines just for vote bank politics. If not checked in time, such comments from our politicians will result in spiraling hatred across the country. It is up to us to decide whether we fall in their trap or rise above it.
