Congress will scrap triple talaq law if it comes to power, says women's wing chief
New Delhi, Feb 7: The Congress will scrap the triple talaq law if it forms the government in 2019, the party's women's wing chief Sushmita Dev said on Thursday.
Addressing the Congress' Minority Department convention here, Dev alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had created an atmosphere pitting Muslim women against Muslim men through the triple talaq law.
"A lot of people told us that women will be empowered if the triple talaq bill is passed. But we opposed that law because it is a weapon that Narendra Modi ji has prepared to put Muslim men in jail and make them stand in police stations," the All India Mahila Congress chief said.
She hailed Muslim women from all parts of the country for writing "crores of letters, carrying out signature campaigns and rebelling against" the law.
"The Congress party stood up and opposed it in Parliament. I promise you people that the Congress government will come in 2019 and we will scrap this law. But it is also certain that whatever law is brought for women's empowerment, by whichever government, the Congress will support it," Dev said.
In December last year, a fresh bill to make the practice of triple talaq among Muslims a penal offence was introduced in Lok Sabha to replace an ordinance issued in September.
Under the proposed law, giving instant triple talaq will be illegal and void and will attract a jail term of three years for the husband.
The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018 superseded an earlier bill passed in the Lok Sabha and pending in the Rajya Sabha.
The earlier bill was approved by the Lower House. Amid opposition by some parties in the Upper House, the government cleared some amendments, including introduction of a provision of bail, to make it more palatable.
As the bill continued to face resistance in Rajya Sabha, the government issued an ordinance in September, incorporating amendments.
The ordinance was re-promulgated recently as the first one was about to expire.
The government has maintained that despite the Supreme Court striking down the practice of talaq-e-bidat (instant triple talaq) as unconstitutional, men were divorcing their wives on flimsy grounds and even via WhatsApp.
The opposition has said divorce cannot be made a penal offence and the provisions of the bill are against basic principles of the Constitution.
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Philippines president declares national energy emergency amid global fuel supply risks
Manila: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has declared a national energy emergency, citing the “imminent danger” to the country’s fuel supply due to global disruptions linked to the ongoing conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran, Al Jazeera reported.
“The declaration of a state of national energy emergency will enable the government… to implement responsive and coordinated measures under existing laws to address the risks posed by disruptions in the global energy supply and the domestic economy,” Al Jazeera quoted Marcos Jr as saying.
As part of the emergency response, a committee has been formed to ensure the orderly movement, supply, distribution and availability of fuel, food, medicine, agricultural products and other essential goods, he said.
The emergency declaration, which will remain in force for one year, allows the government to procure fuel in advance and take action against hoarding and profiteering.
Authorities are also empowered to take action against the hoarding, profiteering and manipulation of petroleum product supplies.
Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said the country currently has about 45 days of fuel supply based on current consumption. She added that the government is working to procure 1 million barrels of oil from countries within and outside Southeast Asia to build a buffer stock, though uncertainties remain.
Meanwhile, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said the government is in talks with Washington to secure exemptions that would allow for the purchase of oil from countries under US sanctions.
The announcement comes amid rising public discontent. Transport workers, commuters, and consumer groups have planned a two-day strike to protest fuel price hikes and what they call inadequate government response.
Piston, a federation of public transport associations, described the declaration of a national energy emergency as a “superficial band-aid that deliberately ignores the structural roots of the fuel crisis”.
“If the government genuinely intends to protect transport workers and commuters from this geopolitical crisis, it would immediately suspend the Excise Tax and Value-Added Tax on petroleum products to drastically lower prices overnight,” Al Jazeera quoted Piston as saying.
Renato Reyes Jr, of the progressive civil society coalition Bayan, said the declaration “does not address the basic problem of runaway oil prices and [their] effects on the mass transport system and other sectors in the country”.
As part of the government’s mitigation measures, students and workers in some cities are being given free access to bus rides, and the government has started to provide a 5,000 peso subsidy for public transport workers, including motorcycle taxi drivers, to help them cope with rising fuel costs.
