Lok Sabha passes triple talaq bill passed amid opposition walkout ‘Not about politics’:Ravi Shankar

Mangalore Today News Network

Delhi, Dec 27, 2018 : The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the revised bill making the Muslim practice of instant triple talaq illegal and a punitive offence after a heated debate as opposition members, who expressed their reservations against the proposed law and demanded it be sent to a joint select committee, walked out, HindustanTimes reported.

 

In his reply to the debate, Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who introduced the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018 in the house earlier in the day, rejected the opposition’s demand for referring it to a select committee.

“Opposition’s demand for joint select committee has possibly only one reason,’why it is criminalized?’When Parliament has passed bills calling for harsh punishment for other crimes, then why no one said what will happen to families of culprits,” he said, according to ANI news agency.

He said the Supreme Court had termed the practice both “un-Islamic” and “unconstitutional”.

Stressing the bill was not aimed at victimising any community, he said that it has enough safeguards to prevent its misuse.

Also Read: ‘About women’s rights, justice’, Prasad says as Lok Sabha debates triple talaq bill

As the house took up the bill for passage, most of the opposition members, including the Congress and the AIADMK, walked out. The bill was passed after amendments moved by NK Premachandran of the Revolutionary Socialist Party, the All India Majlis-Ittehad-Muslimeen’s Asaduddin Owaisi and the Biju Janata Dal’s Bhartruhari Mahtab were rejected.

Earlier, Prasad had said that the law was not against any community or religion, but for “the rights of women and about justice”.

He said the government works with “an open mind”, does not have any bias and has addressed many of the concerns raised earlier with regard to the new bill.


New Delhi, Dec 27, 2018 : Citing how 20 Islamic nations had banned the practice of instant triple divorce, he asked why a secular nation like India could not follow suit and appealed the issue not be seen through the “prism of politics”, HindustanTimes reported.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge had earlier expressed his party’s willingness to debate the issue but demanded that the bill be sent to a select committee of the both houses for greater scrutiny as several provisions were “unconstitutional”.

The AIADMK, the Trinamool Congress, the Majlis-e-Ittehad-Muslimeen and the Nationalist Congress Party also made similar demands.

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, however, said an earlier bill on triple talaq was discussed and passed by the house and members could flag issues during the debate. She said all of a sudden a demand cannot be made to send it to a committee.

Opposing the current bill, Congress member Sushmita Dev said its real purpose was not to empower Muslim women but to “penalise” Muslim men, adding criminalisation of triple talaq was counter to the Supreme Court verdict.

Defending the bill, BJP member Meenakshi Lekhi on Thursday questioned if ‘Triple Talaq was part of the Quran and asserted that the issue was not about “he versus she,” but rather about human rights violation.

“Do we want to create a society where men have the sole right to divorce women whenever they want, a society where men can change wives like clothes,” she asked.

Terming the proposed bill “unconstitutional, against national integrity, and against Muslims’ personal law”, AIADMK’s A Anwhar Raajhaa asked why are Muslim husbands are being targeted.

“The bill fails to answer who will take care of the wife and children for 3 years,” he said.

Minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that the proposed bill is not to victimise anyone but to serve justice to Muslim women.

Participating in the debate, Shiv Sena ‘s Arvind Sawant said the bill should be supported as safeguards have been made to prevent its misuse, but also told Prasad that the goverment should be daring enough to bring a legislation on Ram temple as it had shown on the triple talaq bill.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) member Mohammad Salim said a civil matter shouldn’t be treated as a criminal one

“This is a contract between two adults. This is a civil matter, don’t treat as a criminal one. This is one country, so the law should be one for everyone,” he said.

Attacking the Congress, Union textile minister Smriti Irani asked why it had not taken steps to ban the practice during its stint in power.

Opposing criminalising triple talaq, NCP’s Supriya Sule said, “Empowering women financially and emotionally will actually address the issue. This is not a law made for is, this is for women who are at the lower end of pyramid. So, this shouldn’t be criminalised.”

MIM’s Owaisi came out strongly against the bill.

“This bill is in violation of our culture. In Islam, marriage is a contract. Talaq is a violation of contract. But, sending the man to jail is wrong. It will affect the women as if their husbands go to jail, who will put food on their plate?” he asked.

Ahead of the bill’s introduction and debate, the BJP and the Congress had asked all their members to remain present in the house.

The politically sensitive bill, which seeks to criminalise the practice of instant divorce among a section of Muslims, provides for a three-year jail term for those found guilty of following the practice.

Tabled last week, it would supersede an earlier bill that the government had managed to get passed in the Lok Sabha in December last year. The previous bill sought to make instant divorce a punishable, cognisable and a non-bailable offence.