Triple Talaq Bill: With just two days left in the ongoing Parliament session, NDA government has finally decided to take up the Triple Talaq Bill for discussion and passage in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. Law and justice minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will take up the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019 for discussion and passage. Modi government reintroduced the bill in the Lok Sabha last month amid a bitter debate with the opposition. The bill that seeks to replace an ordinance to ban the practice of instant oral divorce practiced by some Muslims in the country was introduced by a majority vote in the lower house amid noisy protests by the opposition parties. NDA ally Janata Dal (United) had walked out of the Lok Sabha in protest of introduction of the bill on June 21.

In February this year, President had promulgated the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Ordinance, 2019 (No. 4 of 2019) after Prime Modi’s government had failed to pass the bill in the Rajya Sabha just before the national election in April-May.

The Lok Sabha is expected to see noisy scenes as six opposition members including Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary, the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, have moved a statutory motion to oppose the bill. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, TMC member Saugata Roy, AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi, RSP’s NK Premchandran and Indian Union Muslim League’s (IUML) PK Kunhalikutty have moved a statutory motion to oppose the Triple Talaq Bill.

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The bill is expected to be passed in the Lok Sabha as the ruling BJP has an absolute majority in the house on its own. However, it lacks the numbers in the Rajya Sabha. Even support of NDA parties is not enough and its floor managers in the Rajya Sabha need to rope in non-NDA parties like TRS, BJD, and YSRCP.

The task of Modi government has become even more daunting as its ally JD(U) has opposed the bill in its present form.

But the united opposition is determined to block the bill in the upper house as it had done before the Lok Sabha elections in April-May this year.

KK Ragesh, CPM Rajya Sabha member from Kerala, told Financial Express Online that the opposition will not allow the government to push the Triple Talaq Bill in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, that is the last day of the ongoing session, even if it is passed by the Lok Sabha on Thursday. Friday, is usually meant for taking up the private members’ bill.

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Although, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was keen to implement this important legislation in his first term and had sought oppositions support for the bill but an united opposition had blocked its passage in the Rajya Sabha.

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage), Bill, 2019 (popularly known as Triple Talaq Bill) is considered important social reform pushed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The law aims to end the practice of an instant oral divorce practiced by a section of Muslims in the country.

The law seeks to protect Muslim wives from the instant divorce by pronouncing the word ‘Talaq’ thrice in quick succession. Sometimes it is conveyed to Muslim wives over the phone, SMS or WhatsApp message.

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