Overview
- NCP MLA Sana Malik said in the state assembly that polygamy is permitted in Islam and referenced the Quran and Pakistan during a debate on women’s issues, remarks that were made on Tuesday and reported widely.
- Her comments drew sharp criticism from BJP and Shiv Sena leaders who insisted India is governed by the Constitution and raised women’s-rights concerns about endorsing polygamy.
- Malik later said her words were taken out of context, insisted she was responding to a BJP MLA’s reference to Pakistan, and denied she was promoting polygamy.
- NCP state president Sunil Tatkare publicly described Malik’s statements as her personal view and reaffirmed the party’s support for the Supreme Court ruling and Parliament’s law on triple talaq.
- Maharashtra ministers reiterated that laws are not made from religious texts, said a committee will be set up to draft a Uniform Civil Code, and the episode could intensify intra-alliance friction and debates over personal-law reform.