Parliament Session: Rajya Sabha adjourns sine die, Citizenship Bill and Triple Talaq Bill lapse

Both the  Bills have been  in the centre of a political storm across the country inviting fierce opposition from different sections but come handy for the ruling National Democratic Alliance to suit its purpose.

Introduced on July 19 in the Lok Sabha, the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016 seeks to allow illegal migrants from certain minority communities in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan eligible for Indian citizenship. In other words, it amends the Citizenship Act of 1955.

The Citizenship Amendment Bill seeks to allow illegal migrants belonging to the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian religious communities coming from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan to not be imprisoned or deported.

It also appeals for the minimum years of residency in India to apply for citizenship to be lessened from at least 11 to six years for such migrants.

The Bill, however, does not extend to illegal Muslim migrants. It also does not talk about other minority communities in the three neighbouring countries.

The Citizenship Amendment Bill has been resented by many in the northeastern region, particularly in Assam as it contradicts the Assam Accord of 1985, which states that illegal migrants heading in from Bangladesh after March 25, 1971, would be deported.

Lok Sabha in January passed the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019 but it is yet to be cleared in the Upper House where the Opposition parties outnumber NDA.

The triple talaq bill, on the other hand,  makes the pronouncement of talaq-e-biddat "void and illegal." According to clause 3 of the Bill, "Any pronouncement of talaq by a person upon his wife, by words, either spoken or written or in electronic form or in any other manner whatsoever, shall be void and illegal."Most of the Opposition parties, including the Congress, are against the Bill. Congress has even vowed to abolish the Bill once it comes to power.he

Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu expressed dismay at the lack of business transacted this session. It passed the Motion of Thanks on President’s address, the interim Budget and the Finance Bill on Wednesday without debate.

The Lok Sabha, meanwhile, passed the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill and the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment). The lower house is also likely to discuss other bills including The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2019, and The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2018.

Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu  adjourned the House sine die after his customary address at the end of the session. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and the triple talaq Bill are now set to lapse.

The Rajya Sabha has passed without debate the motion thanking the President for his address at the start of the Budget session. The House has also passed the Finance Bill, which was cleared by the Lok Sabha yesterday. The interim Budget was also passed by the House without debate.

In the Finance Bill, 2019, the government has proposed to raise tax rebate for people having annual income up to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 2,500 to Rs 12,500, which will effectively ensure that they don’t have to pay any tax. Standard deduction has also been raised from Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000, besides a host of tax benefits to home buyers,

The CAG report on the Rafale deal, which was tabled in the Rajya Sabha,  says India saved 17.08 per cent money for the India Specific Enhancements while purchasing 36 Rafale aircraft from France, as compared to the 126 aircraft deal negotiated by the UPA government. It adds that the delivery schedule of the first 18 Rafale aircraft is better than the one which was proposed in the 126 aircraft deal, reports news agency ANI. The Rajya Sabha will resume in a few minutes.

However, the report was not taken up for discussion as the House was adjourned sine die.