History repeats itself as BJP fails to get Triple Talaq Bill passed in Rajya Sabha

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday failed to get the revised triple talaq bill that seeks to criminalise the practice of instant divorce among Indian Muslims passed in the Rajya Sabha. The Upper House was adjourned till January 2 after the Congress-led Opposition demanded the bill be sent to a select parliamentary committee for further scrutiny. In a landmark judgment by the Supreme Court in 2017, the practice of instant divorce by saying the word 'talaq' (divorce) thrice was held unconstitutional. Following the Supreme Court verdict, the Centre had drafted the triple talaq bill which had already been passed by Lok Sabha. However, the biggest hurdle for the bill is Rajya Sabha, where the BJP government doesn't have the majority.

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The Congress has said it will not allow the passage of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018, in its present form and demanded the proposed legislation be sent to a select committee for further scrutiny. The numbers are stacked slightly in favour of the opposition in the Upper House, with the UPA having 112 members and the NDA 93. One seat is vacant. The remaining 39 members of other parties are unattached to either NDA or UPA and are likely to play an important role in the passage of the contentious legislation.

On Thursday, the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018 was passed by the Lok Sabha with 245 members voting in its favour and 11 opposing it. The proposed law makes giving triple talaq illegal and void, and will attract a jail term of three years for the husband.

The opposition has questioned the stringent provisions like criminalisation of a civil wrong in the triple talaq bill. In the Lok Sabha, the opposition had demanded that the bill be referred to a ‘Joint Select Committee’ of Parliament for further scrutiny.

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On Thursday, the government rejected the opposition’s contention that it was aimed at targeting a particular community. Piloting the bill, Prasad had said there should be no politics on the proposed legislation, stressing it was not against any community.

Describing the passage of the triple talaq bill in the Lok Sabha as a historic step towards ensuring equality and dignity of Muslim women, BJP chief Amit Shah had demanded an apology from the Congress for “decades of injustice”.