Government pushes new bill on triple talaq in Lok Sabha

New Delhi: The contentious triple talaq bill on Friday became the first proposed legislation to be introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Narendra Modi government in its second term, amid vehement protests by Opposition members who claimed that it was violative of the Constitution.

Despite protests from Opposition benches, chiefly from the Congress, the passage of the bill seems to be a certainty in the Lok Sabha with the ruling BJP in itself having a brute majority of 303 in the 542-member House.

The question, however, was whether the government would be able to get the bill through the Upper House where it still lacks a majority. The number equation in the Rajya Sabha is very tight with the NDA, along with the Biju Janata Dal, having 109 members and the Opposition having 108.

The undecided Janata Dal (United), Telengana Rashtra Samiti and the YSR Congress make up for 14 seats. Out of these parties, the JD(U) has already made it clear that it favours wider consultations before supporting the bill.

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019, was introduced in the House on Friday following a division of votes, with 186 members supporting and 74 opposing it.

The new bill is a copy of the ordinance in force. Bills that are introduced in the Rajya Sabha and are pending there do not lapse with the dissolution of the Lok Sabha. “This is not a question of religion but about justice to women,” said law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad while introducing the bill.

Seeking to justify the need to bring in the legislation, Mr Prasad said there were 543 cases of triple talaq reported in the country. After the Supreme Court judgment in 2017 banning triple talaq more than 200 cases were reported, he said.

As soon as Speaker Om Birla asked Mr Prasad to move the bill, several Opposition members rose in protest and Mr Birla allowed them to put forth their point of view.

Congress MP from Thiruvananthpuram Shashi Tharoor said he was opposed to the triple talaq (instant divorce) but was against this bill as it conflates civil and criminal laws.

He said it was a textbook example of class legislation as it was pointed at one community — Muslims — even though abandoning wives is not unique to it.

Mr Tharoor said that there should be a law universally applicable to all in case of abandoning wives.

Asaduddin Owaisi of the AIMIM took a dig at the BJP, saying it has so much affection for Muslim women but is opposed to rights of Hindu women to enter Sabrimala Temple in Kerala.

He said the triple talaq bill violates constitutional rights as it stipulates three-year jail term for guilty Muslim men while Hindu men get only one year of jail term for a similar offence, he said.

N.K. Premchandran of the RSP also opposed the bill while Trinamul members demanded that the bill should be referred to parliamentary standing committee for scrutiny.

As per the bill, divorcing through instant triple talaq is illegal, void and will attract a jail term of three years for the husband. Seeking to allay fears that the proposed law could be misused, the government has included certain safeguards in it such as adding a provision of bail for the accused during trial. The amendments were cleared by the Cabinet on August 29, 2018.

Speaking to the media outside the Lok Sabha after the Bill was introduced, Mr Prasad said he was surprised that the Congress had “sided with the likes” of Mr Owaisi to oppose the bill.

“It seems they have not learnt from their defeat in the elections. They are still opposing a legislation which helps women and empowers them,” he said.