'Where was your respect for Constitution': PM taunts Congress, cites 1985 Shah Bano case

Modi said the Congress never dared to ban the practice of instant triple talaq due to vote-bank politics.

Himmatnagar (Gujarat): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday questioned the Congress's respect for the Constitution and said Muslim women have suffered under its rule as he referred to the Rajiv Gandhi government overturning the Supreme Court judgment in the Shah Bano case in 1985.

He said the Congress never dared to ban the practice of instant triple talaq due to vote-bank politics.

Hitting back at the Congress for claiming the BJP will change the Constitution in its third term in office, Modi said the opposition party could not implement the statute book in the entire country during its decades-long rule.

Addressing a rally in Himmatnagar town of north Gujarat in support of BJP's Lok Sabha candidates for Sabarkantha and Mehsana seats, the PM asserted he was committed to the Constitution and ensured its implementation in Jammu and Kashmir by removing Article 370 which provided special status to the erstwhile state.

'Congress leaders are now claiming the Constitution is in danger and reservation will be abolished. In reality, the Congress could not implement the Constitution in the entire country during its 70-year rule. Our Constitution was not implemented in Kashmir...It was Modi who did it because Modi is committed to the Constitution,' emphasised the BJP stalwart.

Modi said it was his government which gave reservation rights to Dalits, tribals and OBCs in Kashmir by implementing the Constitution there after removing Article 370.

'Modi works to protect the sanctity of the Constitution in every corner of India. Dalits, tribals and backward classes have already rejected the Congress. The BJP has the highest number of MLAs and MPs from these communities,' he noted.

The PM hit back at the opposition INDIA bloc over its 'BJP will change the Constitution' narrative and referred to the then-Congress government's decision to overturn the Supreme Court's ruling in the Shah Bano Case of 1985.

He said Muslim women have suffered under the Congress rule due to the party's vote-bank politics.

'Congress shehzada (referring to Rahul Gandhi) is now roaming with (copy of) the Constitution book. In the Shah Bano case, it was your party's government which overturned the judgement of the Supreme Court, which works as per the Constitution. Where was your respect for the Constitution then? You changed the SC ruling and deprived Muslim women of any security,' said Modi.

In 1985, the SC had ruled in favour of Shah Bano, a Muslim woman from Indore who had sought maintenance from her husband after divorce, but the then-Congress government under PM Rajiv Gandhi overturned the judgement through an Act.

Modi said his government's 2019 decision to abolish the practice of instant triple talaq has given security to not only Muslim women, but their families too, as they used to remain tense about what will happen to their daughter if the husband gives her instant divorce.

'You never dared to stop triple talaq due to vote-bank politics. But, I am not worried about the vote bank. I don't run the country on the basis of victory or defeat in elections. I just wanted to give security to my Muslim daughters. I was able to save the lives of lakhs of women and their families with that decision,' said Modi.

On the decades-long issue of Ram Temple, the BJP's star campaigner maintained its construction in Ayodhya should have started the very next day India got its independence in 1947.

'But, our country had to fight for the temple for 75 years. The Congress tried to even change laws to ensure it (temple) never comes up. It was finally built after an SC verdict. But, when the temple trust invited them (Congress) for 'Pran Pratishtha' (consecration ceremony), they did not honour the invitation just to appease their vote-bank,' claimed Modi.

Alleging the opposition is circulating his doctored videos, the BJP leader said the Congress and its INDIA bloc allies have become a 'fake factory' today.

'Their mohabbat ki dukan (shops selling love - a slogan given by Rahul Gandhi) is now selling fake items, fake promises and fake slogans. They are trying to malign Modi's image. But, I am confident people will not accept their false claims ,' he said.

Without taking the name of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, the BJP stalwart opined the party's 'shehzada' (prince) is now claiming the country will burn if Modi comes to power for a third time.

The PM said Congress leaders used to claim the country will burn if Ram Temple is constructed in Ayodhya, but that did not happen.

'The Ram Temple was finally constructed. Did the country burn? The Congress is just trying to scare people because of its vote-bank politics. In reality, it is the Congress which is burning and no one can douse it. They are saying such things because their dreams have turned into ashes,' noted the PM.

He said the Congress had also claimed that there will be bloodshed and the country will break apart if Article 370 was removed from Kashmir.

'We removed Article 370. Was there any bloodshed? They used to claim no one will lift the tricolour in Kashmir after that decision. Today, our tricolour is flying high at Lal Chowk (in Srinagar),' said the PM.

He said there was a time when the Congress government used to send 'dossiers', a bunch of documents about an incident, to a neighbouring country following a terror attack.

'Today, India gives dose, not dossiers. We now hunt them (terrorists) in their own homes (ghar me ghus kar marte hai),' Modi asserted.