BJP to Host Iftar for Triple Talaq Victims as Congress Event Invites Opposition Leaders

New Delhi: Minorities Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi will host a special iftar for the victims of triple talaq on Wednesday.

The BJP function coincides with the iftar party by Congress President Rahul Gandhi for which leaders from 18 non-NDA parties have been sent invites.

With the Triple Talaq Bill stuck in the Rajya Sabha, Naqvi’s announcement of an iftar only for victims of unilateral divorce is being seen by the government as a statement of its intent on getting the Bill pending in parliament passed.

Whereas the Congress iftar has been organised for the opposition parties in a bid to strengthen the joint opposition fight against the BJP ahead of 2019 general elections.

The Congress last organised an iftar in 2015 when Sonia Gandhi was at the helm of affairs.

The move by Naqvi to hold an iftar for Muslim women who are victims of instant divorce comes just days after reports of Rashtrapati Bhavan deciding not to host an iftar this year, with President Ram Nath Kovind's office stating that there should no religious observance at taxpayer's expense at the public building.

In its attempt to open a channel of communication with the minorities, the government has been lately also been holding a series of meetings with Muslim and Christian leaders under the “Sampark for Samarthan” programme.

This was just after Delhi Archbishop Anil Couto had written an explosive letter asking for the community to pray for the country’s wellbeing ahead of 2019 elections.

Among the leaders of the opposition parties expected to be present at the iftar organised by the Congress are Mulayam Singh Yadav, Sharad Yadav, Sharad Pawar, Sitaram Yechury, Tejashwi Yadav and others. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu has also been invited. The Congress iftar which will be held at the Taj Palace Hotel.