Govt to push for Triple Talaq Bill in Budget session

New Delhi, Jan 28: The Government on Sunday made a strong pitch for the passage of the Triple Talaq bill in the Budget Session of Parliament and added that it would “leave no stone unturned” to bring about a consensus on the issue. Saying that it would discuss the Opposition’s issues with the bill, the government requested their cooperation in passing the bill during the session.
“We hope the Triple Talaq Bill is passed in Rajya Sabha too. My colleagues & I will leave no stone unturned in talking to and convincing the political parties. The way they have passed GST unanimously, we request them to pass this too unanimously,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said while addressing the media after the all-party meeting in Parliament House on Sunday.
Referring to the Oppositions’ demand of sending the bill to a selection committee, Kumar said that the bill was now the property of Rajya Sabha. “Let the House decide,” he added. One of the primary contention of most opposition parties when the Bill was tabled during the winter session was the criminalisation provision.
The meeting called by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, a day before the start of the Budget session, was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Ananth Kumar, as well as leaders of opposition and other parties including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mulayam Singh Yadav, D Raja among others. The government sought the cooperation to ensure the success of the Budget session.
While the government intends to pass the Triple Talaq bill, the Opposition plans to counter the government on issues such as rape, communal violence and remarks on the Constitution. The Opposition has also asked the government to address these issues during the session.
Leaders of the opposition parties are likely to meet tomorrow to push for unity and to discuss ways to together corner the government. The BJP Parliamentary Party executive will also hold a meeting on Monday to deliberate on the strategy for the session.