Triple talaq bill in Rajya Sabha today in govt's latest attempt to pass it

Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will table the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018.

The Opposition insists on referring it to a select committee of Parliament. The bill, passed twice in the Lok Sabha, could lapse if it doesn’t get the approval of the Upper House by February, reports said.

"Most Islamic countries have banned triple talaq. So it is not a matter of religion or faith. Even in Pakistan, triple talaq is banned. So it is an issue of gender equality, a matter of social justice. It is not an issue of faith. So keep the two separate,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday.

Congress and other opposition parties are not essentially opposed to the bill but they want it subjected to parliamentary scrutiny.

"...The bill will not help empower women," All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K.C. Venugopal had said.

The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha last Thursday with 245 voting in favour of it and 11 against. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which runs the central government, does not have the majority 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.

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.