Talaq Bill non-passage a BJP game?

With the BJP completely against sending the triple talaq Bill to a parliamentary select committee, what unfolded in the Upper House on Wednesday was amusing to watch.

BJP, unofficially tagged as an anti-Muslim party, was upbeat about the passage of the bill in order to save Muslim women from being run down. At least that’s what it felt like after it fought out the opposition parties in the Lower House and passed the Bill.

However, what happened on Wednesday was a complete u-turn from the Lok Sabha drama. In Rajya Sabha, the BJP does not have a majority and thus passage of Bills lie upon parties like the TDP, which is an ally and AIADMK and BJD, who pitch in to help the government to pass Bills in the Upper House.

On Wednesday, all these parties were opposing the Bill and supporting the Trinamool Congress-led opposition demand of sending it to a select committee. The opposition was so vocal about its demand that the BJP had to disrupt the proceedings in a bid to save the Bill from being voted to the select committee.

Doesn’t all this reek of a badly written Bollywood flick where you get to know the climax right before the interval?

2018 will be seeing some major elections back to back that will create a backbone for the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections if it can ensure victory in all the states. Starting from Meghalaya to Madhya Pradesh and Nagaland to Karnataka, the BJP will try to win it all.

And what better a way than to whip lashes on the Congress to win a battle. It is imperative too after Congress’ performance in the Gujarat elections. It seems that the ruling BJP wants to use the non-passage of the triple talaq Bill as a tool to fight against Congress. It is a possibility that the TDP, AIADMK and the BJD were asked to help the opposition in stalling the passage which can then be used against Congress in the upcoming elections.

It can also be a possibility that the BJP wants to attract even Muslim votes to its bank and use the non-passage of the bill to nurture Muslim women’s sentiments against the Congress. The BJP quite tactfully put the Congress in a catch-22 situation. Even if it was amazed at the support from parties that usually aid the government, it couldn’t have done much because if the demand for a select committee’s report on the bill was not sought for, the politics outside Parliament would have been tough. Especially, when the BJP is carefully avoiding a fruitful debate on the Bill and using Congress as a whipping boy in its poll agendas.

Reasons may be many but one thing is for sure — There is a huge political reason behind the non-passage of the much-awaited triple talaq Bill.