
All India Majlise-e-Ittehadul Musleemin (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi asked the Muslims to stand up for the support of triple talaq. He said the Muslims should get the inspiration from the people of Tamil Nadu on how they fought against the Supreme Court ban on the bull-taming sport Jallikattu.
He said like the Tamils, Muslims also had their own culture. Even PM Modi had to bow down to the Tamils. The chief said nobody should interfere with their customs of marriage and triple talaq.
Owaisi said, “In Tamil Nadu, people protested in lakhs to fight for their tradition. Modi had to bow in front of them. Are we any less than them? We also have our own culture. We will marry and divorce the way we want to. Nobody should direct us what we should do.”
His comment came at a time when the Supreme Court is looking into the constitutional validity of triple talaq. In December, 2016 the Allahabad High Court termed triple talaq unconstitutional. The SC is hearing the another petition filed by Saira Bano who has challenged the three rules of Niqah; Talaq-e-Bidat, Niqah Halala and a man’s right to have four wives.
Mocks PM Modi
Addressing a crowd in a rally in Aligarh the leader mocked PM Modi on Wednesday about his meeting with UAE crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan.
He referred the PM’s “open arms” welcome gesture towards the UAE prince. “We respect our guests and the Prince definitely should have been welcomed befittingly. But it looked like Modi had forgotten to do his yoga in the morning. So when the prince arrived in the evening, by his gestures, it looked like he was doing yoga with his open arms. If Modi has so much love for a ‘dhadiwala’ from abroad, why does he not show the same love to `dhadiwalas’ in India?”
But he was careful while addressing the rally, he didn’t use the word Muslim as it would violate the Supreme Court orders on seeking votes in the name of religion.
Owaisi also ridiculed the Samajwadi Party leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son Akhilesh Yadav. He called them “drama company”. He said, “The `bade miyan and chote miyan’ are taking people for a ride by saying there is development in Uttar Pradesh.”
AIMIM declared a list of 11 candidates for the first two phases of UP elections.