Triple talaq bill in Rajya Sabha today
Showdown likely as Opposition parties are determined to refer it to a joint select panel, but govt wants to get it passed in the House.
New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha was all set to witness a faceoff between the government and the Opposition over the triple talaq bill on this year’s last day, with both sides determined to slug it out over their respective stands.
The Opposition is determined to send the bill to a joint select committee, while the BJP-led government is insistent on passing it in the Upper House, though it is short of a majority there. The treasury benches and the Opposition have issued whips to their members to be present on Monday when the bill is taken up in the Rajya Sabha. It was passed in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, with 245 votes in favour and 11 opposed.
The Congress and some other parties had staged a walkout as the bill was being passed.
The Opposition parties, led by the Congress, will hold an early morning meeting on Monday at Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad’s chamber in Parliament. Sources said a resolution has been prepared by the Opposition seeking to refer the bill to a select committee that has been signed by at least 12 parties, including the Trinamul Congress, Congress, CPI(M), CPI, DMK, TDP, RJD and some others. The AIADMK, which has of late largely been pro-government, has also opposed the bill.
Sources said the Opposition is also likely to raise the issue of an earlier bill that was turned into an ordinance but has not been withdrawn from the Rajya Sabha yet.
“If this government thinks it can bulldoze all legislation through, we will not let that happen. All institutions are being destroyed, including parliamentary procedures. We are not going into the merits and demerits of the bill, we want it to go for further scrutiny,” said Derek O’Brien, leader of the Trinamul Congress Parliamentary Party.
The government, however, appeared equally determined to make its point by trying to pass the bill. “I appreciate the maturity of the Rajya Sabha and the sensitivity of the issue. We believe we’ll get support in the Rajya Sabha,” law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
The bill seeks to criminalise the practice of instant divorce among Muslims. Under the proposed law, giving instant triple talaq will be illegal and void, and will attract a jail term of three years for the husband on a complaint from the wife.