New Delhi : A number of Muslim organisations on Thursday slammed the triple talaq ordinance, calling it politically motivated and “unacceptable”.

Jamat-e-Islami Hind President Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umari in a statement said that if the government is sincere about the welfare of Muslim women, it should hold discussion with ‘ulema’ (Islamic scholars) and experts of Islamic jurisprudence over the entire talaq-e-biddat (triple talaq) issue.

The Union Cabinet cleared the ordinance on Wednesday, and it was promulgated by the President. The ordinance prescribes up to three years jail and/or fine for the man who divorces his wife through triple talaq or instant divorce.

“The ordinance is against the Constitution of India that gives every citizen liberty to practise one’s religion and personal laws. The ordinance contravenes the Shariah laws,” said Maulana Umari.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind General Secretary Maulana Mahmood Madani said the ordinance was not going to favour the divorced women in any way and would instead harm their cause for justice.

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday called the promulgation of Ordinance as “constitutional urgency.” Madani responded by saying that 201 incidents of talaq in two years or 100 cases per annum in 16-crore Muslim community “does not warrant such a hasty ordinance”.

“It is a clear instance of dictatorship. The government did not even feel the need to consult the community,” he said.

All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat (AIMMM) President Navaid Hamid said the move was nothing but a “diversionary tactic” by the Modi government to deflect attention from its own failures and burning issues such as rising fuel prices and corruption.

“We should not even react to such provocations. I reckon the Modi government’s sole aim with this ordinance is to incite Muslims so that BJP can give it a communal colour and deflect attention from real issues,” Hamid told IANS.

“If the government is so sincere about the welfare of Muslim women, it should tell us what it is doing for the Muslim widows whose husbands have been killed in lynching cases over the last four years,” he added.

—IANS