Triple Talaq Bill passed in Lok Sabha after Congress-led opposition walks out

While the government maintains triple talaq is unfair to Muslim women, several opposition parties like TMC, NCP, AAP and AIMIM - led by Congress- has said there should be no interference in religious matters.

Representational image

The controversial Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018, also known as the Triple Talaq bill, will be tabled in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.  The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has issued a whip to all its lawmakers, asking them to be present in the House in full strength. 

The Parliament is meeting on December 27 after a long weekend Christmas holiday. Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have been witnessing disruptions over a range of issues, including protests by the Congress, which is demanding a joint parliamentary committee probe on the Rafale deal.

Here are the highlights:

* The Muslim Women Bill (Triple Talaq) 2018 passed in Lok Sabha.

* Congress stages walkout in Lok Sabha over triple talaq bill.

* A joint selection committee must be constituted and report must be submitted within 15 days, says Congress leader Mallikarjun Khadge in Lok Sabha.

* This is not an issue of targeting any particular community, says Prasad.

* Husband is jailed even under anti-dowry act, but no one objects to that, says Prasad.

* Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad replies to the House on the triple talaq debate.

* You (BJP) give protection to sexual harassment accused MJ Akbar but are not willing to give protection to us, says Owaisi.

* If sexual minorities have been given protection under law, why shouldn't religious minorities be given the same, says Owaisi.

* You talk about faith when a judgement comes on Sabarimala, but you don't want to accept that it's a matter of my faith when it comes to triple talaq, says Owaisi.

* This government decriminalised homosexuality and adultery, but wants to criminalise triple talaq, says AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi.

* Yeh keh rahe hain Triple Talaq to ghalat hai lekin Triple Talaq dene wale ko saza nahi honi chahiye, aap pehle bataiye ke aap shikaar ke saath hain ya shikaari ke saath hain? (Opposition is saying that Triple Talaq is wrong but one giving Triple Talaq should not be punished. Please explain if you are with the hunter or the hunted), says SAD MP Prem Singh Chandumajra in Lok Sabha.

* The Bill is against the Muslim community. Our party will oppose the Bill, we are against it, that is our stand: AIADMK MP Anwar Raja

* "Issues of gender justice are not 'He vs She' contests. I am happy that my Prime Minister and my PM's government has taken up this matter to protect human rights," says BJP's Meenakshi Lekhi.

* NCP, AAP and AIMIM also join the chorus against the bill.

* RS Prasad says that the matter should be seen from the perspective of humanity, not through political lenses. "20 Islamic nations have banned triple talaq. Why can't a secular nation like India?"

* "If someone can be arrested for demanding dowry or assaulting women, and this Parliament allowed for arrests, why can the same Parliament not stand against triple talaq?"

* RS Prasad says the bill has no malice towards anyone, any religion, community, belief or any political party. "We are ready to hear them (opposition) if they are ready to hear us."

* Debate on Triple Talaq Bill begins. "This is a very important bill which needs detailed study. It is also a constitutional matter. I request the bill be sent to joint select committee," says Kharge. Sudip Bandyopadhya of TMC also puts forth a similar request.

* Congress to take part in Triple Talaq Bill discussion, will ask to forward the bill to the standing committee: Sources

* The Rajya Sabha adjourned for the day amid ruckus, minutes after the House assembled for the day`s proceedings.

* Debate on Triple Talaq Bill scheduled for 2 pm.

* Proceedings resume in Lok Sabha with Congress demanding that the Triple Talaq Bill is sent to a Standing Committee.

* Lok Sabha adjourned till 12 pm after ruckus over Rafale deal. More chaos expected once Triple Talaq Bill is tabled.

* Law Minister RS Prasad says Triple Talaq is extremely unequal in nature and the matter is not about differences between political parties but about the welfare of women.

* Scenes of protests outside the Parliament as well. Rajya Sabha has been adjourned till tomorrow after uproar over Rafale deal.

* Uproar in Parliament over a number of issues including Rafale deal and Triple Talaq. 

* "We will appeal to the government that it should not interfere in a religious matter. We will take part in the discussions today," says Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge.

* Congress has issued a whip asking its Lok Sabha MPs to be present in the House today, reports news agency ANI.

* The BJP on Tuesday issued a whip to its Lok Sabha members asking them to be present in the Lower House on December 27 when the Triple Talaq Bill will be taken up for discussion. The bill, which has faced resistance from several parties, is also likely to be put to vote on that day.

*Parliamentary Affairs Minister Narendra Singh Tomar Wednesday sought an assurance from the Opposition that it would allow discussion on the bill without disruption.

*The fresh Bill to make the practice of triple talaq among Muslims a penal offence was introduced in Lok Sabha on December 17 to replace an ordinance issued in September. Under the proposed law, giving instant triple talaq will be illegal and void, and will attract a jail term of three years for the husband. The fresh bill will supersede an earlier bill passed in the Lok Sabha and pending in the Rajya Sabha. The earlier bill was approved by the Lower House. But amid opposition by some parties in the upper house, the government had then cleared some amendments, including the introduction of a provision of bail, to make it more acceptable. However, as the bill continued to face resistance in the Rajya Sabha, the government issued an ordinance in September, incorporating the amendments. An ordinance has a life of six months. But from the day a session begins, it has to be replaced by a bill which should be passed by Parliament within 42 days (six weeks), else it lapses. The government is at liberty to re-promulgate the ordinance if the bill fails to get through Parliament.

* Introducing the bill, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said despite the Supreme Court striking down the practice of talaq-e-biddat (instant triple talaq), terming it unconstitutional, divorces in this form were taking place. Citing details of instant triple talaq cases, the government had last week informed Lok Sabha that till now 430 incidents of triple talaq have come to the notice of the government through the media. Of these, 229 were reported before the Supreme Court judgment, while another 201 came to the notice after it. These cases were reported between the period of January 2017 and September 13, 2018. 

* In a landmark 3-2 verdict, the Supreme Court found the practice un-Islamic and "arbitrary", and disagreed that Triple Talaq was an integral part of religious practice. 

(With agency inputs)