NEW DELHI: The triple talaq Bill, passed by the Lok Sabha on Thursday, is likely to be stalled by the Congress in the Rajya Sabha when it is taken up in the Upper House next week.
All India Congress Committee general secretary K.C. Venugopal on Saturday said that Congress will not let the passage of the triple talaq Bill in its present form in the Rajya Sabha and the party would join hands with those parties with whom it could ally with to defeat the Bill in the present form.
“Stringent provisions such as criminalisation of a civil wrong were there in the Bill and it was not at all acceptable for the Opposition parties, including the Congress. The Bill will not help empower women,” Venugopal said.
The Congress has accused the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government of getting the triple talaq Bill passed in haste in the Lok Sabha keeping in mind the 2019 general elections. The party has said its provisions were against the Constitution as well as fundamental rights.
Ten Opposition parties had come out openly against the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018 when it was introduced in the Lok Sabha. The Opposition parties have been demanding that the Bill be referred to a “joint select committee” and had walked out when the Bill was passed in the Lower House of Parliament with 245 voting in favour and 11 opposing it.