Congress to oppose triple talaq bill in Rajya Sabha tomorrow
New Delhi, Dec 30 (IBNS): The Congress will do everything in its power to stop the triple talaq bill in its present form from being passed by the Rajya Sabha when it is tabled in the Upper House on Monday.
The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on Thursday with 245 voting in favour of it and 11 against. However, the NDA does not have the members in the Rajya Sabha.
Speaking to reporters in Kochi, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K.C. Venugopal said his party would join hands with others so that the bill is not passed and added that at least 10 parties were going to oppose the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018.
"...The bill will not help empower women," he said. "The Congress will oppose its passage in the present form in the Rajya Sabha."
Earlier, the Congress had said the NDA government was passing the bill in haste with the 2019 general elections in mind. It contends the bill has provisions that violate fundamental rights.
On Thursday, the bill was passed in the Lower House after the Congress and the AIADMK had walked out. The bill was passed by a voice vote after a five-hour debate.
The bill criminalises the practice of divorcing by uttering the word “talaq” thrice in any form – spoken, in writing, or over electronic communication. It also proposes a three-year jail term for men who violate the law.
In the monsoon session of Parliament, the Union cabinet had cleared the amendment to the triple talaq bill with the approval for making provision for granting bail to men found guilty of declaring instant divorce to their wives.
The provision for bail was incorporated following demands raised by the opposition parties. Magistrates can now grant bail to the accused.
The debate on Thursday began in the Lok Sabha on the the revised bill to make the Islamic practice of instant triple talaq illegal and a punitive offence.
“This bill is not against any community, religion or belief. This bill is for the rights of women and about justice,” Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said and added that 20 Islamic nations had banned the practice of instant triple talaq.
Saying that India being a secular nation should follow suit, he said: “I request that this should not be looked through the prism of politics.”
During the debate, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Meenakshi Lekhi said: "Men... have been seen to divorce women over most trivial cases... Hence, men cannot be given supreme right to summarily divorce his wife and abandon her."
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