India
The Triple Talaq Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on Thursday amidst a chorus of protests from the entire Opposition, most of who wanted the government to send the bill to a Joint Select Committee. While the bill garnered 245 votes in its favour, 11 MPs voted against it; the Congress and NDA constituent AIADMK walked out before the voting began.
Updated : Dec 28, 2018, 07:25 AM IST
The Triple Talaq Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on Thursday amidst a chorus of protests from the entire Opposition, most of who wanted the government to send the bill to a Joint Select Committee. While the bill garnered 245 votes in its favour, 11 MPs voted against it; the Congress and NDA constituent AIADMK walked out before the voting began.
Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad introduced the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018, in the Lok Sabha amidst protests from AIADMK MPs who trooped into the Well of the house. Prasad said that the bill was not against any community and that the government was bringing it "with an open mind".
He said that the new bill, which was introduced after the Opposition pointed at several infirmities in the last bill, sought to address those concerns. After the last bill was passed in the Lok Sabha the last session, it was withdrawn after Rajya Sabha MPs opposed it on several grounds. Among them were the lack of provisions on compromise, on bail and a provision which said that neighbours, too, can place complaints. The government later brought in an ordinance.
If the government does not manage to pass the bill in the Parliament, it will lapse this session.
Prasad added that 477 cases of triple talaq were reported last year.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, said that the bill was the government's interference in religion and the personal laws of the Muslim community. He said that the government should send the bill to a Joint Parliamentary Select Committee for 15 days or a month before debating it in the House. "It is important to send it to the Committee because it will affect the lives of 30 crore women," said Kharge.
The Opposition's primary argument is that the bill should do away with the criminalisation of triple talaq.
The bill faced opposition from AIADMK MPs as well. MP AA Raajhaa called it an 'unconstitutional' bill. TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay said that while a large portion of the bill was welcome for the rights of Muslim women, the criminalisation has led to a consensus among Opposition MPs to send it to a JPC.
Congress MP Sushmita Dev said that the law minister quoted the minority judgement, which suggested that the Parliament should decide on the matter. "The law minister is giving Shayara Bano nothing but a criminal case, and bare sustenance while the 1985 Shah Bano judgment provides more. This is not about the empowerment of Muslim women, but the penalising of Muslim men," said Dev.
Replying to her, BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi said that this was not a matter of 'he vs she', but an issue of human rights violation. She said that between January 2017 and September 2018, 430 cases of triple talaq were recorded, with UP recording the highest number at 120 cases.
Union minorities minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that most Islamic states have abolished the practice decades back. Union textiles minister Smriti Irani said that the bill gives equality to all and will ensure justice for all women.
MP from NDA constituent Shiv Sena Arvind Ganpat Sawant said that the government's 'prevention is better than cure' argument is flawed and that the government should bring an ordinance on Ram Mandir issue instead.
— DNA-Research N Archives