A united Opposition forced the adjournment of Rajya Sabha on Monday demanding that the Triple Talaq Bill be scrutinised by Parliament. As the Centre rejected the Opposition’s demand to send the Bill to a select committee, the chances of building a consensus to pass the Bill are bleak.
The Opposition has been maintaining that the provisions in the Bill — a three-year-jail term — for the husband who uses triple talaq to divorce his wife, is giving a criminal viewpoint to a civil case. The Opposition has more numbers in the Upper House with the AIADMK and Biju Janata Dal also joining the chorus.
The Opposition parties met at the house of their leader Ghulam Nabi Azad here. Trinamool Congress has moved a motion in the House to create a panel to consider the Bill. Azad said the Bill requires further scrutiny and urged the Centre to consider the issues raised by majority of the elders. He said, by not sending key Bills to House committees, the Centre is breaking a tradition.
Centre ready for discussion
Government, however, refused such a suggestion and said the Congress had helped the Bill’s passage earlier in the Lok Sabha. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel said the Centre is ready for any discussion on the Bill. “The Congress and other parties are only playing politics on the issue which is very important for ensuring the rights of married Muslim women,” Goel added. The Lower House had passed the Bill last week. As the stand-off continued, the Bill could not be taken up for discussion in Rajya Sabha on Monday. It is likely to come up again on Wednesday. Deputy leader of the Congress Anand Sharma said: “Nobody is opposing the Bill. Let there be Legislative scrutiny. The government is misleading the people. If the Bill has been passed without the scrutiny of Legislative in the Lok Sabha, then it should not be passed here without being referred to a select committee. Rajya Sabha is not a rubber stamp,” he said.
Law Minister Rai Shankar Prasad countered, saying the Bill addresses the question of gender equality.
“This Bill is very important. We want to discuss it here and are ready to listen to any suggestion. Even after bringing the Ordinance, there have been incidents of triple talaq till yesterday,” he added.