Instant talaq a criminal offence after House nod
Large number of MPS choose to skip voting, helping clear the bill
NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed a bill to outlaw talaq-e-biddat, the Muslim practice of instant divorce by uttering the word “talaq” thrice, the second key legislation to have been passed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in less than a week despite being in minority in the upper house.
An Opposition-sponsored motion to send the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019, informally known as the “triple talaq bill”, to a select committee of the Rajya Sabha was put to vote. It was defeated 99 to 84. A select committee is a parliamentary panel of MPS across parties, where the Opposition can examine a draft law at length and suggest changes.
The passage of the triple talaq bill, which would make the practice a penal offence for the husband, after the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill was cleared four days ago, shows that the Opposition’s ability to stall or defeat bills or have them referred to parliamentary committees has greatly diminished.
Since only 193 MPS voted, it’s clear that a large number of MPS chose to skip the voting, helping clear the bill. The Rajya Sabha has a total current strength of 241. The Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party had not issued whips to its MPS that would have made it mandatory for them to be present during the vote.
The Lok Sabha passed the triple talaq bill on July 12. The President will now sign it into law.
“This is an occasion to salute the remarkable courage of those Muslim women who have suffered great wrongs just due to the practice of Triple Talaq. The abolition of triple talaq will contribute to women empowerment and give women the dignity they deserve in our society,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter. All 4 MPS absent
7 absent, 5 present
2 absent, 2 present 2 abstained
Both 2 absent
4 absent, 43 present 1 absent, 12 present 1 absent, 5 present 1 absent, 4 present