Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah on Monday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ensured that triple talaq has no place in India despite facing stern opposition from the Congress, PTI reported. Triple talaq is the Muslim practice of divorcing by uttering the word “talaq” thrice.

“The Congress never cared for the honour of Muslim mothers and sisters,” said Shah at an event in Madhya Pradesh’s Satna district. “It has no courage to deal with issues like triple talaq. Despite stiff opposition from the Congress, [Prime Minister] Modi has ensured that it [triple talaq] has no place in the country.” Assembly elections in the state are scheduled on November 28.

Last month, the Union Cabinet approved the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Ordinance making the practice a punishable offence. The government took the decision after failing to get the Parliament pass a legislation to ban the practice.

Shah said the BJP has not only encouraged women but also given them important responsibilities. “Not just by words, but Modi government has given them [women] space in the Union Cabinet by inducting nine women ministers, including Nirmala Sitharaman as the defence minister and Sushma Swaraj as the external affairs minister,” he added.

The BJP gave Swaraj the vital responsibility of establishing good relations with countries and enhancing trade with them, Shah said. During the BJP’s rule, six women were appointed governors of states, including that of Madhya Pradesh, he added.

Shah claimed that his party had created a “record” in honouring women while the Congress had done nothing despite being in power for a long time.

Shah’s comments on women empowerment come at a time when Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar is facing allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct.

After the Union minister filed a defamation case against one of his accusers and issued a statement in which he called the allegations false, fabricated and “spiced up by innuendo and malice”, the BJP said the minister has commented on the allegations. “It is not about agreeing or disagreeing [with him],” said BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao. “He has presented his version.”

Till Monday, the BJP had maintained silence on the allegations against Akbar. Union minister Smriti Irani said last week that the onus of commenting on the allegations lies with the “gentleman concerned” while Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj evaded a question on the government’s stance on the matter. Minister for Defence Nirmala Sitharaman had also refused to comment.