The she-says-maybe-he-says-nay syndrome may hinder the BJP from winning Muslim votes in the western Uttar Pradesh belt that goes to the polls in the first phase on April 11.

MUZAFFARNAGAR/MEERUT: The issue of triple talaq is trapped in the gender binary that divides conservative Muslim society across western Uttar Pradesh, with many women giving the government a thumb’s up for its efforts to criminalise the practice but shying away from voting for the BJP because of loyalty to their husbands.

The she-says-maybe-he-says-nay syndrome may hinder the BJP from winning Muslim votes in the western Uttar Pradesh belt that goes to the polls in the first phase on April 11 as most men in the community say they don’t want the government to interfere in their religion.

Kaisar Jahan, a homemaker in Muzaffarnagar, typifies the dilemma of a woman caught between self-assertion and tradition that dictates she bows down to her husband.

“Triple talaq is an atrocity which should definitely be criminalised. I like BJP for thinking about us,” said the mother of a six-year-old boy.

She quickly added that she will not vote for the BJP as her husband does not want it to win.

“I will vote where my husband wants me to. He does not want BJP, so I will not vote for it,” Kaisar told PTI while standing outside a shop.

“Don’t interfere in our religion. Keep politics out of it,” snapped her husband Aslam who came and took her away.

The pattern was visible in Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut and Baghpat, which votes in phase one along with Saharanpur, Bijnor, Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar.

Rabia, 35, resident of Kairana, said, “Triple talaq is a wrong practice but we are not for the BJP. We will vote for anyone fielded by Akhilesh ji (SP chief Akhilesh Yadav) as my husband says.”

About 35 per cent of the more than 1.5 crore voting in round one are Muslims, said J P S Rathore, vice president of the Uttar Pradesh unit of the BJP.

Most Muslim women in the region hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bringing triple talaq under the spotlight, saying it was a step towards empowering Muslim women.

Triple talaq, also known as ‘talaq-e-biddat’, is the practice of instant divorce in which a Muslim man can legally divorce his wife by pronouncing ‘talaq’ three times in one go.

“My husband divorced me and married another woman. I had no choice but to accept the decision. I live with my four-year-old son now. Triple talaq is a heinous practice. Don’t we Muslim women have rights?” asked Farzana, a resident of Muzaffarnagar.

Her outrage found an echo in the small town of Kairana nearby.

Saba was divorced by her husband through triple talaq and is now living with her maternal family.

“My husband divorced me within two years of our marriage. I was just 18. We do not have any rights. I am illiterate maybe that’s why I could not fight. Luckily I did not have a child to look after. Triple talaq is a crime and men should not be allowed to do it,” said an anguished Saba.

While most of the women supported criminalising triple talaq, there were also women who felt their “Allah” would take care of everything and the government was trying to get in the way.

Like 23-year-old Faiza, a resident of Baghpat who got married a year ago, and feels triple talaq is a “personal matter” which no political party should interfere in.

In a landmark verdict, the apex court in August 2017 set aside the 1,400-year-old practice on several grounds, including that it was against the basic tenets of the Quran and violated the Shariat.

The government issued a triple talaq ordinance in September 2018, making the practice a penal offence for Muslim men.

Most Muslim men blame the BJP for polarisation of society and for interfering in Islam.

If at all the government wants to do anything for Muslims, it should be to not incite violence, said many of the men.

According to Faisal Khan, who runs a cigarette shop in Meerut, the Modi government made a “calculated political move” to win Muslim votes but it would not turn out that way.

“Triple talaq is in our Islam. Who are they to interfere? We can take care of our women and don’t need the government for it. We will not let BJP win again,” Khan said.

Mohammad Aamir Arshad, 30, a truck driver with a transport company in Kairana, agreed with him.

“All these years, the BJP polarised Hindus and Muslims. Now they are trying to divide men and women in Islam. They are showing that it is a very positive step but in fact it’s only an interference in our religion,” Arshad said.

Standing with him were five other Muslim men who voiced the same opinion.

In Baghpat, a Muslim doctor added that religion is a private affair and the government has no role to play in it.

“There are bigger issues to look at. Why are they getting into our personal issues. Our women are our responsibility. We will see what has to be done,” said Asad, a general physician.

In 2014, all eight seats went to the BJP.

There was a bypoll held in Kairana subsequently that went to the RLD.

PTI

Bengaluru, Apr 3 : BJP’s National President Amit Shah had drawn a huge crowd during his road show in the Banashankari in the Bengaluru.

The BJP president, who had arrived more than two hours late to attend the road show on Tuesday, was taken in an open jeep for over two kilometers and the party workers greeted him with cheerfulness all along the two sides of the road.

State party president B S Yeddyurappa, and the newly appointed Vice president of the state unit, Tejasvini Ananthkumar, party candidate, Tejasvi Surya, former Deputy Chief minister R Ashok and others were also accompanied the national president.

The BJP president however did not addressed the party workers, as he arrived late to the road show.

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 3 : In the backdrop of repeated instances of Maoist presence, security has been tightened in Wayanad where Congress President Rahul Gandhi is contesting the April 23 Lok Sabha election.

Rahul Gandhi will file his nominations papers from Wayanad on Thursday after a roadshow along with his sister Priyanka Vadra, who is also the AICC general secretary incharge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, sources said.

Due to health reasons, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi will not be able to come to Wayanad to accompany Mr Gandhi during the filing of nomination papers.

Special Protection Group (SPG) camping in the constituency began search operations in sensitive areas following the arrival of Mr Gandhi, who enjoys the highest security cover in the country.

Mr Gandhi is expected to reach Kozhikode on Wednesday evening after attending election programmes in the North-Eastern state.

Senior Congress leader AK Antony, AICC general secretaries Oommen Chandy, KC Venugopal, Mukul Wasnik, IUML leader Kunhalikutty, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala and KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran will accompany Mr Rahul who will participate in a series of party meetings during his visit to Kozhikode and Wayanad.

Out of the 10 companies of Central Paramilitary forces allotted to Kerala, one company of Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel had already been deployed in Wayanad which recently witnessed an encounter with Maoists in Vythiri.

Meanwhile, Kerala Police has demanded 149 companies of paramilitary forces for the Lok Sabha election in the State.

Out of the 30 Maoists sighting reported from Wayanad, Kannur, Malappuram, Kozhikode rural and Palakkad during December-February period, eight were reported from Wayanad alone, sources added.

Agencies

Former Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka and senior BJP leader KS Eshwarappa’s recent comment on Muslims during the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections has triggered a controversy. 

Addressing members of the Kuruba and minority communities in Koppal on Monday, the senior BJP leader said the Congress only uses the Muslim community as a vote bank but doesn’t give tickets to them. He also added that the BJP isn’t giving tickets to Muslims as they don’t trust the party.

“We don’t give Muslims tickets because you don’t believe in us. Trust us and we will give you tickets and other things,” KS Eshwarappa said in Kannada. The former minister, who is known for his controversial statements, also belongs to the Kuruba backward caste. 

Responding to the leader’s comment, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi wrote on Twitter that a con job only works when the victims don’t know they’re being conned. 

This is not the first time a Karnataka BJP leader has faced the heat over comments ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Earlier in February, Karnataka BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa triggered a controversy by politicising the IAF air strikes in Balakot. 

“The Indian Armed Forces proved their mettle by destroying the terrorists’ hideouts. The impact of this strike will help the BJP win more than 22 seats in the state,” he said. The opposition strongly criticised the former Karnataka CM for his remarks. Later, BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi told the media that the statement was his own opinion, not the BJP’s.

Karnataka will vote for 28 MPs in the upcoming general elections in two phases on April 18 and 23.

Agencies

New Delhi, Apr 2 : Promising that it will keep a vigilant eye on the security situation in the country,
the Congress on Tuesday said, if voted to power, it will establish the National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC) within three months and make NATGRID operational by December 2019.

”Congress had also proposed to establish the NCTC and NATGRID. The BJP government dismantled the preparatory work and wasted five years. NCTC was put in the cold storage and NATGRID is yet to be made operational. Congress promises that NCTC will be set up within three months and NATGRID will be made operational by December 2019,” the party said in its manifesto for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Terming terrorism, infiltration of militants, Maoism or Naxalism and caste or communal violence as the most serious threats to internal security, the Congress said it believes that each of these four threats deserves a separate and distinct response.

”We promise an uncompromising approach and hard measures to put an end to terrorism and to the infiltration of militants. In the case of Maoism, the Congress will resolutely fight violent activities. At the same time,
Congress will address developmental challenges in the areas concerned, enlist the support of the people and win over the Maoist cadres,” the document said.
In the case of caste or communal violence, Congress will put down such violence with a firm hand using the police forces at its command, apprehend the instigators and bring them to justice. There will be no room for self-appointed vigilante groups and moral policing brigades.
”Congress will work with State Governments to increase the strength of State police forces, fill all vacancies, equip and train them, and deploy them impartially to maintain law and order and to detect and punish violators and instigators,” the manifesto promised.
The main opposition party further promised to take strong action with respect to crimes against women, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and minorities. The law will be applied on the perpetrators without fear
or favour. They will not be allowed to walk on the streets with a sense of impunity.
”Congress will hold the District Administration responsible for riots, caste or communal violence,
large scale crimes against women, and for the widespread breakdown of law and order,” the manifesto said.

Bengaluru, Apr 2 : To attract more number of women voters to turn-up at the polling stations, the Bruhath Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has planned to open as many as 250 all-women polling booths in 24 Assembly segments in the metropolis that comes under three Lok Sabha segments.
Speaking after demonstrating the model of the all-women booth in the city, here on Tuesday BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad said, “the motive behind the programme was to attract more number of women voter to the polling stations”.
He said that such polling booths will be established where number of women voters are more in any locality in the city.
Informing that these all-women booths, would be manned by only women staff he said
“It would encourage the women voter to visit the polling booths and cast their votes”.
The BBMP commissioner however said that “The men voters also can exercise their constitutional right if they got registered their names in the voters list, comes under the polling station”.

New Delhi, Apr 2 : Ahead of the first phase of polling for Lok Sabha elections on April 11, the Congress party will on Tuesday release its manifesto for the elections, which is expected to unveil the party’s roadmap on jobs creation, tackling agrarian crisis and boosting the education, health sectors and vision on how to further strengthen the economic growth of the country.
The highlight of the party’s manifesto, to be released by Congress president Rahul Gandhi here at the party headquarters, will be the Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY) scheme under which the party has promised to deposit Rs 72,000 per annum in accounts of poorest 20 per cent families of the country if it comes to power in the Lok Sabha elections.
On March 25, the Congress, while announcing the Minimum income guarantee scheme, proclaimed that Rs 72,000 a year would be given to poorest 20 per cent families in the country, if the party comes to power in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
The money will be transferred directly to the bank accounts of these families, Mr Gandhi said at a news conference here after consultations of the Congress Working Committee which discussed the party manifesto for the 2019 elections for the House of the People.
”Under the Minimum income guarantee, Congress will give Rs 72,000 per annum to the the poorest 20 per cent families if the party comes to power,” Mr Gandhi said.
The scheme will ensure a family has a minimum income of Rs 12,000 in a month.
The scheme of the Congress is in a counter to the Bharatiya Janata Party government’s income plan for farmers at Rs 6,000 per year.
In the run up to the release of the party manifesto, the Congress president has also made a series of promises for the youth and small businessmen.
He has announced a host of incentives for youngsters who want to start their own businesses including easy availability of bank credit.
The Congress president has also announced that the party will fill all Government vacancies by March 2020 if it comes to power.
The Congress president has also promised that if elected to power, his party would move to directly elected mayors with five year terms and elected councils to improve the quality of life in cities.
The party is likely to promise a complete loan waiver of up to Rs 2 lakh in the manifesto.
The manifesto has been prepared in consultation with people from different segments of life.

Agencies