BJP is turning India into Zia ul Haq's Pak: Mehbooba Mufti

Srinagar: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Monday accused her former ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its government at the Centre of intruding into Muslim households and trying to divide them and interfere in the personal lives of the members of the community.

She also said that despite being a Muslim majority state J&K acceded to Gandhi’s India and at the time of the Partition millions of Muslims also chose to stay back in Gandhi’s India but now “you are trying to create Zia ul Haq’s Pakistan in Gandhi’s India...you are not doing any service to the country or Hindus”.

While addressing a press conference here, she alleged that by bringing the ‘Triple Talaq Bill’, the BJP is only seeking to disturb “our family life”. The move, she said, will disturb the family structure and create more problems including of economic nature for the women of the community as well as men. “I have gone through a broken marriage and I feel that a woman faces economic challenges after her marriage is broken, the biggest of these being how the raising of children,” she said. Ms Mufti said that the Muslims take pride in strong family structure and bonding. “After creating division on religion and sectarian lines, imposing ban on beef and sections of trade including leather works from which the Muslims were making a living and changing names of cities and islands, the BJP now wants to divide the Muslim families through Triple Talaq Bill”.

She said that this bill is a direct assault on culture and strong family structure and bonding of the Muslims and that the best would be to empower Muslim women to be able to face the world independently in case of a breakup.

She also said, “When we talk about reservations for Muslims, BJP rejects it on religious lines. But when it comes to this kind of law, they run to Parliament.” She said that the BJP enjoys majority in Lok Sabha “but democracy is not run through the brute majority, it is about consensus”.  She said that the Muslims accepted the decision of the Supreme Court on the invalidity of Triple Talaq and also say that they will abide by its ruling on the Babri Masjid issue but despite being obedient they are being pushed to the wall. Whatever is happening is not good.” End it

Earlier in a series of tweets, she said that the BJP is aiming to divide Muslim families through Triple Talaq bill. “After creating division on religious and sectarian lines, BJP, now wants to divide Muslim families through Triple Talaq bill. With economic onslaught on Muslims through curbs on meat and leather, the social crisis TT bill can cause, will impoverish them further,” she said.

She also wrote on micro-blogging site “Muslims pride themselves for strong family structure and bonding. Same is true of other religions in the East, which is considered as an advantage over the Western culture. This bill is a direct assault on that.” She further said, “Indian Muslims and we from JK which is a Muslim majority state, decided to stay with Gandhi's secular democratic India and let us not convert it into Zia-ul-Haq's nation."

In another tweet, she said, “Democracy is not run through brute majority, it is about consensus. Muslims accepted the decision of SC on invalidity of Triple Talaq , unlike the Sabarimala verdict. Best is to empower Muslim women to be able to face the world independently in case of a breakup.”