HIGHLIGHTS
*The revised bill was passed by a voice vote
*The Congress and AIADMK staged a walkout
*The government asserted that the bill is about 'Insaaniyat aur insaaf'
Amid cries of Bharat Mata Ki Jai, the Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018, even as opposition parties staged a walkout after the government refused to refer the bill to a joint select committee.
The Congress and the AIADMK walked out after a five-hour debate on the revised bill to make instant triple talaq a punishable offence. It was later passed by a voice vote.
While the opposition parties said they want a parliamentary committee to scrutinise the bill, the government argued that the Supreme Court, in a landmark judgment last year, had ruled instant triple talaq "unconstitutional" and "arbitrary".
Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the bill should not be seen through the "prism of politics" but of humanity.
Considering the contentious bill earlier faced stiff resistance in the Rajya Sabha, the BJP on Thursday reportedly issued a three-line whip to its Lok Sabha members, asking them to be present in Parliament when the bill was to be taken up for discussion.
Congress, AIADMK stage walkout
As Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said his party was staging a walkout from Parliament amid the triple talaq bill debate, the AIADMK also endorsed his views and staged a walkout.
Kharge said the bill is "divisive, discriminatory, unconstitutional and against the Muslim personal law" as he reiterated his demand for sending the bill to a joint select committee. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, thereafter, ordered that the lobbies be cleared for voting on the motion.
Who said what
Ravi Shankar Prasad argued that women empowerment is not a political issue for his party... but deterrence is important to bring change in the society.
Opposing the bill, AIMIM's Asaduddin Owaisi said, this bill is in violation of our culture. "In Islam, marriage is a contract. Talaq is a violation of the contract. But, sending the man to jail is wrong. It will abandon the women," he said.
NCP MP Supriya Sule argued the government should rather focus on women empowerment by bringing law against marital rape. "This bill is for women who are not at the top of the pyramid, it is for women who do not know their rights. So is this the best we can do for them? Throwing their husbands in jail? Should we not stress on other similar women empowerment bills like the ones about women's reservation in Parliament, marital rape etc.," she asked.
Earlier in a scathing attack, textile minister Smriti Irani said it is shameful for everyone that 477 cases of triple talaq came to light after the supreme court verdict. She contested that even the Islamic jurisprudence says that Talaq-e-Biddat is a criminal offence.
Asking why did the Congress not abolish triple talaq during its rule, she said had the Congress not diluted the Supreme Court order in 1986 law and abolished triple talaq during its rule, Shaiara Bano wouldn't have to knock the door of the Supreme Court.
Further attacking the Congress, Irani said, The Opposition said that this is a contract between two adults, I want to tell them that contracts can’t be broken unilaterally.
CPM leader MP Mohammed Salim, however, begged to differ and urged not to criminalise the issue. "What is the hurry to bring up the Bill again so quickly? Don't criminalise a civil issue," he said.
Shiv Sena leader Arvind Ganpat Sawant said his party will support the government if equality is maintained for all as he asked for extending the bill to Jammu and Kashmir. An ally of the BJP, the Sena also raised the issue of Ram temple, as Sawant asked the BJP government to pay heed to the "nation's demand".