GUWAHATI: Assam’s BJP government has stirred a hornet’s nest with its decision to repeal the Assam Muslim Marriage and Divorce Registration Act, 1935.
While some threatened to move the court against this decision of the state cabinet, minority-based All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief Maulana Badruddin Ajmal said it was the first step towards implementing Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state.
“They want to polarise voters by provoking the Muslims. This is the first step towards bringing UCC but it will cause the death of the BJP government in the state,” Ajmal, who is also the Dhubri MP, told journalists on Saturday.
His party colleague and MLA Karim Uddin Barbhuiya said the government’s decision would be challenged in a court.
“We have no option other than to fight it legally. Their idea is to torment the Muslim society. This is BJP’s political agenda for votes. They are doing this under pressure from the RSS,” Barbhuiya said.
Abdul Qadir of Assam Jamiat Ulema Hind said the Jamiat would consult lawyers.
“It remains to be seen if the Assam cabinet has the power to repeal this Act. We understand that as the election is round the corner and the government has lost popular support, it took up this effort to try and regain its lost ground,” he said.
Political outfit Assam Jatiya Parishad chief Lurinjyoti Gogoi alleged the BJP government was playing politics on the issue.
“The government should not make unilateral decisions on any issue involving social customs, religious beliefs and public sentiments. The views of scholars of the communities concerned need to be sought in these matters. But creating a political issue to provoke a community by teasing their sentiment is likely to cause social unrest,” he warned.
Minister and government spokesperson Jayanta Malla Baruah had told journalists on Friday night that the government decided to repeal the Act as the state is heading towards UCC.
“There will now be no registration of Muslim marriage and divorce under this Act. We have the Special Marriage Act and we want all marriages to be registered under it,” he stated.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the Muslim Mariage and Divorce Registration Act contained provisions which allowed marriage registration of even minors. He said the move to repeal the Act would help prohibit child marriages in the state.
"This Act contained provisions allowing marriage registration even if the bride and groom had not reached the legal ages of 18 and 21 respectively, as required by law. This move marks another significant step towards prohibiting child marriages in Assam," the Chief Minister posted on X.
Opposition parties, however, termed the decision "discriminatory against Muslims" and an "attempt to polarise voters in an election year".
Speaking to PTI, Congress MLA Abdul Rashid Mandal alleged that by taking a decision to repeal the Act in the year of Lok Saha polls, the government "was trying to polarise voters it is nothing but a discriminatory decision against Muslims."
The Goalpara (West) MLA added, "The government talks about Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and banning polygamy in the state but no such Bill or ordinance has been brought in the assembly so far for reasons best known to them."
"The BJP government is calling it (Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act, 1935) an obsolete Act and that registration of child marriages is happening under it, but that is not a fact. This is the only mechanism for registration of marriages and divorce for Muslims and is valid under the Constitution," he stressed.
(With inputs from PTI)