New Delhi: A day after the historic Triple Talaq Bill cleared the Rajya Sabha hurdle, Opposition parties on Wednesday cried foul and claimed that the government “clandestinely” listed the legislation after assuring them that it would be considered to be referred to a select committee.
The Opposition faced heavy criticism on Tuesday after the Bill was passed due to many abstentations, including that four MPs of the Congress, which helped the Bill sail through in the Upper House.
While the Congress officially denied that any whip was issued, this newspaper was privy to a whip issued by the party’s Rajya Sabha chief Bhubaneswar Kalita asking all MPs to be present for “important” legislations to be passed on July 30.
Sources said that the Party was seeking written replies from the MPs in the matter.
However, possibly in a bid to set the record straight that they could not manage to fightback, the Opposition leaders addressed a joint presser Wednesday morning.
The joint press conference, however, showed the depleted ranks of the Opposition.
Besides, Trinamul Congress, RJD, DMK, CPI(M) and CPI were the other parties present. There had been many abstentatins from SP, BSP, NCP and the PDP besides other fence-sitting parties like TRS, YSRCP and BJD.
The Opposition leaders said that just after the Right to Information Bill was passed in the Upper House, the floor leaders of Opposition parties had an informal meeting with Parlaimentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi, Leader of the House Thawarchand Gehlot and Rajya Sabha Chairperson Venkaiah Naidu and said that the Triple Talaq Bill, UAPA Bill and two other Bills would be considered for select committee referral. Based on this assurace, the parties did not force issue a whip to their members, except the TMC which has issued a three-line whip to it MPs till August 7, they said.
