In a major embarrassment for the Modi government, Janata Dal (United) on Thursday, January 3 said that it would vote against the Triple Talaq Bill in the Rajya Sabha. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ally added that the bill was “unnecessarily hurried and rushed up”.
“The way the Bill was taken up in a hurried manner should have been avoided, and more consultation should have taken place on the issue… if it comes up in the Rajya Sabha for passage we will oppose and vote against the government,” JD(U) Bihar state president Vasistha Narayan Singh was quoted as saying by The Hindu.
The report notes that the JD(U)’s motivation behind this move may strictly be one of self-preservation — to alienate 17 per cent of the Muslim population in Bihar is a dangerous predicament for the party.
BJP leaders in Bihar, according to the report, have refused to comment on the JD(U)’s stand on the issue.