NEWDELHI: The last day of the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament began on a stormy note as Opposition lawmakers led by Congress party continued to stage protest over the Rafale fighter jet deal in and outside Parliament. The Narendra Modi government is trying hard to table the much-debated Triple Talaq Bill in the Rajya Sabha but is facing a stiff resistance from the Congress which wants further modifications in the amended legislation. The Union Cabinet had on Thursday proposed three changes in the Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Marriage Bill, 2017 – first, only the victim, a blood relation or relation by marriage are allowed to lodge FIR in the case, second, the case can be dropped if husband and wife agree to settle their differences and third, a magistrate can grant bail to men found guilty of giving instant triple talaq to their wives.
However, the offence still remains non-bailable. If the amended bill is passed in the Upper House, it will need approval from the Lok Sabha.
On December 29, the Lok Sabha passed the bill which seeks to make instant triple talaq a criminal offence, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government tabled it in the lower house. The Bill proposes a three-year jail term for a Muslim man who divorces his wife in any form of spoken, written or by electronic means such as email, SMS, and WhatsApp. Triple talaq, or verbal divorce, is practised by a section in the Muslim community to instantly divorce their wives by uttering `talaq` three times.
BJP chief Amit Shah has called a meeting to finalise strategy over the triple talaq bill, say reports. The BJP floor managers are also reaching out to Opposition leaders over the issue.
Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2:30 pm after uproar by Opposition in Rajya Sabha over Rafale jet deal.
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