Why divorce criminal for Muslims? Pinarayi Vijayan on triple talaq ban

Mangalore Today News Network

Thiruanantapuram, Feb 21, 2023: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan asked why triple talaq was criminalised when divorce happens in all religions.”The triple talaq was criminalised. Divorce happens in all religions. Why is it a criminal offence for the Muslims alone?" he asked.

 

The chief minister reiterated that the Citizenship Amendment Act will not be implemented in Kerala at any cost. He also criticised the country’s Vice-President and law minister for attacking the Supreme Court’s Collegium system.

“People from different religious backgrounds might have come here for the conference. Can we use a different mode of punishment for each person? For a person following a certain religion, there’s one law and for another, there is another law. Isn’t this what we are seeing in the case of the triple talaq?” he asked.

“The triple talaq was criminalised. Divorce happens in all religions. All others are seen as civil cases. Why is it a criminal offence for Muslims alone? So, in the case of a divorce, if it’s a Muslim, then he can be jailed. We are all Indians. Can we say that we got our citizenship because we were born in a particular religion? Has religion ever been the basis for citizenship?” he further asked.

The Centre used religion to decide citizenship through the Citizenship Amendment Act, he alleged, adding, “We have already cleared our stand on it. We won’t implement it here at any cost.”

“Our parliament cannot decide on the basic principles of our Constitution,” Vijayan said.

“It was declared by a 13-member constitution bench of the Supreme Court in a landmark judgement in the Kesavananda Bharati case. The Sangh parivar knows that the judgement is not in favour of their agenda. That’s why the Sangh parivar has come out against the Supreme Court. The Vice-President is a constitutional post but he still chose to denounce the judgement in the Kesavananda Bharati case. The law minister also often criticizes the Supreme Court,” the chief minister claimed.

Courtesy: India Today