NEW DELHI: The government upped the ante over Congress’s demand for passage of the women’s reservation bill, throwing down the gauntlet to Rahul Gandhi to back a “new deal” for Indian women by getting his allies to back the gender quota legislation and extend support to efforts to end Muslim practices of divorce and re-marriage by way of triple talaq and nikah halala .

Responding to Rahul’s letter to PM Narendra Modi calling for passage of the women’s reservation bill providing for one-third seats for women in legislatures, law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad thanked Rahul for his initiative to support the quota bill originally proposed by the Vajpayee government but said Congress back a package deal to ensure gender equality and representation.

“I propose that both the national parties — BJP and Congress — should come together and offer a new deal to Indian women to ensure quality and adequate representation. As part of the new deal, we should approve, in both Houses of Parliament, the women’s reservation bill, the law prohibiting triple talaq and imposing penal consequences on those who violate the law and the law prohibiting nikah halala,” Prasad wrote.

Referring to triple talaq and nikah halala, the law minister said, “You will appreciate that the two not only give the women of the Muslim community an unequal treatment but also seriously compromise their dignity. As national parties, we cannot have two sets of standards in dealing with women and their rights.”

He also asked if Congress’s allies, who it has been coordinating with, would support the bills. Congress allies like Samajwadi Party and RJD have been bitterly opposed to women’s quota, demanding a sub-reservation for women belonging to OBC and Muslim communities.

The move is clearly intended to put the spotlight on Congress, aiming to highlight the party’s opposition to the law banning triple talaq on the grounds that it should not include penal provisions. It is also a counter-challenge to Rahul’s tweet calling on the PM to rise above “party politics” and his offer of unconditional support to the legislation on women’s reservation.

Prasad wrote, “The government welcomes your initiative to support the bill. However, the government would like to understand fully the reasons why the bill was not taken up for three years by the UPA government in Lok Sabha and was allowed to lapse.”

He also demanded Congress’s support for the bill granting constitutional status to National Commission for Backward Classes. “The bill also deserves your unqualified support for assured passage,” Prasad wrote.

The two bills — according constitutional status to NCBC and prohibiting triple talaq — were passed by Lok Sabha but are stuck in Rajya Sabha as BJP lacks majority in the upper House and Congress was against passage of the bills in their current form.

