Passed by Lok Sabha, Triple Talaq Bill to be moved in Rajya Sabha on December 31

NEW DELHI: The Triple Talaq Bill will be moved in Rajya Sabha on 31 December, days after it was passed in Lok Sabha earlier this week. The Bill will be moved in the Upper House by Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill criminalises the practice of instant divorce by Muslim men and seeks to protect the rights of married Muslim women. 

After the passage of the Bill in Lok Sabha for the second time in less than a year after a heated debate, Prasad had hoped that the Bill will get the support needed in Rajya Sabha. "I appreciate the maturity of the Rajya Sabha and also the sensitivity of the issue. We believe that we will get support in the Rajya Sabha," the Law Minister said.

He also said that the Bill should not be about "political opposition" as it talks about justice for woman victims of Triple Talaq.

Piloting the bill, the Law Minister also said that it was not against any particular community. "Everybody said that Triple Talaq is wrong but they (opposition) also added that don't make it a criminal offence. It's a strange logic. It was also said that this does not happen in other religions. But the fact is that the practice of triple talaq is not in any other religion," he said.

The passage of the bill in Rajya Sabha is likely to be a difficult task for the government as it lacks the numbers that it enjoys in the Lok Sabha. The Bill had been passed in Lok Sabha with 245 voting in its favour and 11 opposing the legislation. Most opposition parties had staged a walkout.

Opposition parties, including the Congress, and some regional parties such as the AIADMK, have expressed their reservations against the bill.