Hyderabad: AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi launched a scathing attack on the BJP government in Assam for repealing the Muslims Marriages Act, accusing the ruling party of ‘snatching’ the ‘Sharia’ from them.
Sharia is a religious law that is part of Islam’s tradition.
“The BJP government in Assam removed the 90-year-old ‘Muslim Marriage Act’ saying the marriage of Muslims will take place under the ‘Special Marriage Act’. Who will read the ‘khutbah’ in the ‘nikah’ (wedding speech). Now if Muslims marry in Assam, neither will there be a ‘qazi’ (the person who conducts the marriage) nor will the bride get a ‘Maher’ (it is a religious requirement according to Sharia),” the AIMIM leader said.
His remarks came at a public meeting in Hyderabad.
“They said that under the ‘Special Marriage Act’, all couples are required to be registered. They (the BJP) want to snatch ‘Shariat’ from us,” he alleged.
Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma pledged on Monday that he will not allow child marriages in Assam as long as he is alive.
In a rousing speech in the Assembly, he challenged his political opponents, saying, “I would like to challenge you politically. I will shut down this shop before 2026.”
“Hear me carefully, as long as I am alive, I will not let child marriage take place in Assam. This will not be allowed to happen as long as Himanta Biswa Sarma is alive. I would like to challenge you politically, I will shut down this shop before 2026,” he said.
The State Cabinet on Friday approved the Assam Repealing Ordinance, 2024, for repealing the British-era Marriage and Divorce Act specific to Muslims.
After the repeal of the Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act 1935, CM Sarma said on Sunday the Muslim women of the state will get relief from “torture and exploitation,” adding that the Act will also help to end the scourge of child marriage.
AIMIM and other parties hit back at the Assam CM for repealing the Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act.