Triple talaq bill passed in Rajya Sabha
The triple talaq bill today cleared Rajya Sabha hurdle, a major political win for the Narendra Modi government. Put to vote after a lengthy debate, the triple talaq bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha with 99 to 84 votes. The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill will now go to President Ram Nath Kovind for his assent. Once the triple talaq bill gets assent of the President and notified by the government, it will replace the triple talaq ordinance of promulgated last in February. The triple talaq bill has been a bone of contention between the Narendra Modi government and the Opposition since December 2017, when the government first tabled the legislation in the Lok Sabha. The bill followed a Supreme Court judgment in August that year. The Supreme Court had declared the practice of instant triple talaq unconstitutional and a divorce pronounced by uttering talaq three times in one sitting void and illegal. The triple talaq bill of the previous Narendra Modi government lapsed with the dissolution of the Lok Sabha upon completion of its tenure. The Rajya Sabha had not approved the bill back then. It was the first draft legisltation that the Narendra Modi 2.0 cabinet passed after being voted back to power in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. The triple talaq bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha and passed by the house last week. The government did not face much trouble for pushing the triple talaq bill in the Lok Sabha, where it enjoys comfortable majority.
