"BJP govt anti-Muslim; they want to polarise votes:" AIMIM leader Waris Pathan on repealing of Muslim marriages, Divorce act

Guwahati (Assam) [India], February 24 : Following the Assam government's move to repeal the Assam Muslim Marriage and Divorce Registration Act, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Waris Pathan alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is 'anti-Muslim' and that they want to polarise votes before the Lok Sabha polls.
"The BJP government is anti-muslim, the law that was brought by Himanta Biswa Sarma in Assam is a violation of articles 25, 26, and 28 of the constitution, it is the fundamental right, everyone has the right to practice their religion," Pathan said in a video message.
"The BJP govt hates Muslims...they hate our eating habits. first, they brought a law on Triple Talaq, and now a law against Muslim marriage...what is the need for a different law in Assam? As the elections are coming, they are trying to polarise votes," he claimed.
In a step towards prohibiting child marriage in the state, the Assam Cabinet on Friday repealed the 'Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act, 1935.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma posted on 'X' and said that this move marks another significant step towards prohibiting child marriages in Assam.
"On February 23, the Assam cabinet made a significant decision to repeal the age-old Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act. This act contained provisions allowing marriage registration even if the bride and groom had not reached the legal ages of 18 and 21, as required by law. This move marks another significant step towards prohibiting child marriages in Assam," Assam CM said.
The state government mentioned after repealing the law, "District Commissioners and District Registrars will be authorized to take custody of registration records currently in the custody of 94 Muslim Marriage Registrars on the repeal of the legislation under the overall supervision, guidance, and control of the Inspector General of Registration.
"One-time compensation of Rs 2 lakh will be provided to Muslim Marriage Registrars for their rehabilitation after the Act is repealed.
Further, listing the reason behind repealing the law, the Assam Government said that it was an obsolete pre-Independence Act of the British for the then Province of Assam.
"Registration of marriages and divorces is not mandatory as per the Act and the machinery of registration is informal, leaving a lot of scope for non-compliance of extant norms. As per provisions of the Act, there remains scope for registering marriages of intended persons below 21 years (for males) and 18 years (for females) and there is hardly any monitoring for implementation of the Act," state government said.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh lauded the Assam government's decision and said that separate laws for Hindus and Muslims won't be possible adding that in this manner the country won't function properly.
"Uttarakhand brought the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), now in Assam if one law is followed by everyone then it will be beneficial. Different laws for Hindus and Muslims won't be possible, and in that way, the country won't function properly," Giriraj Singh told reporters on Saturday.
Meanwhile, AIDUF Chief Badrudin Ajmal slammed the government's move, alleging, "They (BJP government) want to polarise their votes by instigating Muslims. The Muslims will not let this happen...This is the first step towards bringing UCC (in Assam). But through this, the BJP Government will die in Assam."
AIDUF leader Rafiqul Islam on Saturday criticised the decision, calling it a "tactic to target Muslims."
Rafiqul, while speaking to ANI, claimed that the Assam government, led by Himanta Biswa Sarma, does not have the "courage" to bring the Uniform Civil Code, hence repealing the Marriage Act.
"This Government doesn't have the courage to bring UCC. They can't do it. What they brought in Uttarakhand, is not UCC either...They were trying to bring UCC to Assam too. But I think they can't bring it to Assam because there are people from several castes and communities here...BJP followers themselves follow those practices here...Elections are approaching, this is just their tactics to target Muslims," he said.
According to the 2011 census, Muslims make up 34 percent of Assam's population, standing at 1.06 crore out of a total population of 3.12 crore.