Shiv Sena hails triple talaq ordinance

Mumbai: The Shiv Sena on Thursday welcomed the Centre’s ordinance banning instant triple talaq and asked the government to take a similar route for the construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.

The government should take steps to fulfil “at least one promise” made to the Hindus of the country, keeping their sentiments in mind, said Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray in the editorial of party mouthpiece Saamana. The Union Cabinet Wednesday approved an ordinance to ban the practice of instant triple talaq. Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said there was a “compelling necessity” to introduce the ordinance as instances of ‘talaq-e-biddat’ continued unabated despite the Supreme Court striking it down. “The government has ensured dawn of freedom in the lives of Muslim women by making triple talaq an offence. Now, it should also trumpet the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya,” Mr Thackeray said.

“Bring an ordinance on Ram temple and fulfil at least one promise made to Hindus,” said the party, which is an ally of the BJP at the Centre and in Maharashtra.

It noted that promises of bringing uniform civil code, repealing Article 370, which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and construction of the Ram temple could not be fulfilled earlier due to compulsions of running a coalition. “But now you (the BJP) have governments with a complete majority at the Centre as well as in Uttar Pradesh. So why has the exile of Lord Ram not ended?” it asked.

Noting that the contentious Ram temple-Babri mosque land dispute is pending before the court, the Sena said that the judiciary could a call on the matter whenever it wanted to, but the government should find a solution to the matter.