Instant Triple talaq ordinance faces tough Rajya Sabha test

NEW DELHI: The government may find it difficult to pass the bill to replace the ordinance planned on instant triple talaq in the next Parliament session. During closeddoor negotiations of Rajya Sabha leaders in the last session, many parties had demanded that the bill passed by the Lok Sabha be referred to the select committee. With government now opting for an ordinance, opposition parties contend that the real intention is to provide BJP “propaganda” in the ensuing election season.

While the government and the BJP have been projecting the bill (and ordinance) as a law to ensure gender justice for Muslims, many opposition parties, including governmentfriendly parties, have responded by saying they too are “eager to have a legislation” provided the government agrees to refer the bill to replace the ordinance to select committee’s scrutiny to make it “truly pro-Muslim women by deleting gender discriminatory aspects of the ordinance”. If a replacement bill is not passed, the ordinance will lapse.

At the business advisory committee meeting in the last Parliament session, even pro-government JDU and AIADMK, apart from Congress, SP, BSP, Left parties and Trinamool, demanded that the government refer the bill to the select committee.


However, the government chose not to take up the bill in the oppositiondominated RS even though it was passed by the Lok Sabha.

Replying to Ravi Shankar Prasad’s charge on Wednesday that Opposition leader Ghulam Nabi Azad ‘did not respond’ to his attempts to discuss the bill, Congress RS deputy leader Anand Sharma told ET on Thursday that it was Prasad and his government which shied away from bringing the bill in the Rajya Sabha in the monsoon session.

“The law minister should be serious and truthful when he talks about a serious legislation. The real issue here is that not only Congress but a larger number of political parties want the government to follow the parliamentary convention of referring a bill to the select committee or standing committee for the mandatory scrutiny. This government is not serious about legislation but only interested in playing politics with triple talaq issue,” Sharma said.

“Congress always opposed the concept of instant triple talaq and welcomed the SC order and favours a good legislation,” he said.

JDU’s KC Tyagi advised caution.The CPM and CPI too demanded scrutiny of the bill in the select committee.