Rabri Devi slams JD(U) for staying with BJP despite opposing Triple Talaq bill

Senior RJD leader Rabri Devi on Thursday criticised the ruling Janta Dal (United) in Bihar for sharing power with the BJP though it is opposed to the saffron party on issues like the triple talaq bill.

The former Bihar chief minister also mocked the Janata Dal (United), headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, by saying the party has been known for looking towards one direction and moving towards another.

"If the JD(U) is opposed to the BJP on issues like the triple talaq bill, Nitish Kumar should snap ties with it. I don't know why the JD(U) is still sharing power with the BJP," Rabri Devi told reporters outside the Legislative Council where she is the Leader of the Opposition.

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The bill seeks to make the practice of instant triple talaq illegal with up to three years in jail for the husband.

"We are firmly opposed to the triple talaq bill and our stand on the issue has been unequivocal, without any contradictions like the JD(U)," said Rabri Devi, the national Vice-President of the RJD.

The JD(U) staged a walkout earlier in the day at the Lok Sabha when the debate began on the triple talaq bill brought by the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.

"Do not talk about the JD(U). The party has been known for looking in one direction and moving in another... saying something and doing something altogether different," she said.

The JD(U)'s leader in the Lok Sabha Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan had said the bill could lead to a "lack of trust" in the society as it struck at "customs" followed by the minority community and advocated spreading awareness in place of such a legislative measure. The RJD has no member in the current Lok Sabha as it drew a blank in the general elections. The party, an old ally of the Congress, however, has five members in the Rajya Sabha including Rabri Devi's eldest daughter Misa Bharti.

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Rabri Devi also attacked Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi for raking up the fodder scam issue while participating in a debate on the government's appropriation bill on Wednesday.

"A CBI inquiry should also be conducted into the assets of Modi, both across the country and abroad, as his wealth has grown exponentially since he became the deputy CM," the RJD leader, who succeeded her husband as Chief Minister in 1997 and went on to hold the post for eight years thereafter, alleged.