Anxious to pave every potential fault-line that can cause communal polarisation in the months leading up to the general elections, the Congress has agreed to a debate on the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018, which is all set to be introduced afresh in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

Constructive debate

Speaking to BusinessLine, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel said the government is ready for a constructive debate on the Triple Talaq Bill, which will be introduced in the Lower House on Thursday. “The Government is committed to protect women’s rights. The Bill is being brought in on Thursday,” said Goel.

The BJP has issued a three-line whip to party MPs to ensure passage of the Bill.

The statutory resolution to replace the Ordinance, which was issued earlier this year, was brought last week in the Lok Sabha.

Provisions of the Bill

The fresh Bill makes declaration of talaq a cognisable offence, attracting up to three years imprisonment with a fine.

However, the offence is cognisable only if the related information is provided by the married women, against whom talaq has been declared, or any person related to her by blood or marriage.

An Ordinance to this effect was promulgated in September because the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha, but could not be taken up in the Rajya Sabha in the Monsoon Session due to lack of consensus.

Blaming the Opposition

The Government has accused the Opposition, especially the Congress of blocking the Bill and of “hypocrisy on the issue of women’s rights”.

The Congress said the ruling BJP is only pushing this legislation to create communal polarisation whereas triple talaq has already been outlawed by the Supreme Court.

With other parties such as the Nationalist Congress Party, the Samajwadi Party, the TMC and even the AIADMK opposing the Bill, it is unlikely that it will pass in the Rajya Sabha this time as well.

However, the Congress is not letting any stridency creep into its opposition to the Bill to prevent the BJP from accusing it of supporting Islamic hardliners.

Request to postpone

Last week in the Lok Sabha, when Speaker Sumitra Mahajan mentioned that the Bill be taken up, the Congress’ Mallikarjun Kharge requested for a postponement.

“Madam, I request you to take up this Bill on December 27. We are all going to participate, including our party and other Opposition parties. We are ready to discuss this. This is a commitment to you in Parliament,” Kharge had said in the Lok Sabha on December 20.