New Delhi, Jul 31 (IANS): Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani on Friday accused the Congress of preferring vote bank over the rights of the Muslim women in the country.

"The Congress got an opportunity to rule in favour of the Muslim sisters in the 1980s. But votes were more important for the party than the lives of these women. The real battle was fought by women who approached the courts against the injustice. This day is not only meant for the Muslim women, but all women who want respect for their gender every day," Irani said on the Muslim Women Rights Day.

Irani was among the three Union Ministers who addressed Muslim women across the country through videoconference on the first anniversary of the passage of The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019 by Parliament.

The law made the practice of instant Triple Talaq a criminal offence.

She pointed out that though it is generally believed that women came forward to fight for their rights, but the country's history and its culture and traditions had many examples where men too have been at the vanguard of such battles.

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said it was an occasion to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi as it was due to him that the Muslim women were rid of the practice of instant divorce. He said that Modi had brought significant changes in the country since 2014.

Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that after the passage of the law, there has been 82 per cent decrease in Triple Talaq cases in the country.

The three Ministers interacted with Muslim women in Lucknow, Varanasi, Mumbai and other places, during which the latter shared their experiences vis-a-vis Triple Talaq.