Parliament LIVE UPDATES: Bhima Koregaon violence, Triple Talaq Bill likely to dominate session; Rajya Sabha adjourned till noon

Triple Talaq Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha through a voice vote on Thursday. (Express File photo/Ravi Kanojia)

Several MPs issued adjournment motion notices in both Houses of Parliament on Wednesday over the Bhima Koregaon violence. The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, which criminalises the practice of instant triple talaq, is likely to be taken up for discussion in the Rajya Sabha today. Passed in the Lok Sabha through a voice vote last week, the bill recommends a jail term of up to three years for the husband for pronouncing triple talaq.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said on Tuesday that the government is hoping that the Congress would refrain from pressing for amendments. “We are having continuous talks with the opposition parties including Congress. We have told Congress that since they have not pressed for any amendments in the Lok Sabha, they should do the same in the Rajya Sabha,” Kumar was quoted as saying by PTI.

The draft regulation, which was cleared by the Lok Sabha on December 28, had received mixed reactions from Opposition parties. Most of the parties, particularly the Congress, argue that some changes need to be made to the law proposed by the government. “We support the bill. Our only argument has been that it needs to be further reinforced to ensure that women gets their maintenance. In the present form, it needs legal scrubbing. That can only be done by Parliament,” the Congress’s deputy leader in Rajya Sabha, Anand Sharma told The Indian Express.

Parliament Session LIVE UPDATES

11.22 am: Rajya Sabha adjourned till noon as several members sought to raise Bhima Koregaon violence issue.

11.10 am: “In today’s parliamentary party meeting, we discussed two important bills. First, the Constitution 123rd Amendment Bill which will give constitutional status to OBC Commission and second, the bill to end triple talaq and protect the rights of Muslim women,” Union Minister Ananth Kumar was quoted as saying by ANI.

10.40 am: One person was killed in clashes between Maratha and Dalit groups on Monday, in the wake of an event to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the battle of Bhima Koregaon.

10.26 am: Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) leader and Madhepura MP Pappu Yadav issues adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha over Maharashtra violence. Follow LIVE UPDATES on the Bhima-Koregaon violence here.

10.16 am: Several Opposition leaders in the Parliament issue adjournment motion notices over Bhima Koregaon violence. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and MP Rajni Patil gave an adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha (under rule 56) and Rajya Sabha (under rule 267) respectively. Samajwadi Party MP Naresh Agrawal also gave an adjournment motion notice under rule 267 in Rajya Sabha. CPI leader D Raja gave a zero hour notice in Rajya Sabha over “increasing atrocities against Dalits.”

10.00 am: PM Narendra Modi and leaders present at the BJP Parliamentary party meeting underway at the Parliament on Wednesday. At the Parliamentary party meet on December 28, Modi had expressed displeasure over the poor response from party MPs to his greetings and messages on the NaMo app. The PM had also urged the MPs to keep him posted on feedback from the ground over the Central government’s flagship programmes. Following the reaction, at least 250 BJP MPs already upgraded the NaMo app on their smartphones and are expected to respond to the latest survey posted on the app during the BJP Parliamentary party meet today.

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, PM Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah at BJP Parliamentary party meeting. (Express Photo/Praveen Jain)

9.45 am: Stating that the triple talaq Bill, introduced by the Central government was “unnecessary and against the Sharia and the rights of women”, the delegation members, including women, said, “The Bill is not only against Article 25 of the Constitution of India which guarantees religious freedom, but also goes against the recent judgment of the Supreme Court on the issue of triple talaq…” Read their full statement here.

9.40 am: A delegation of Gujarat Muslim Hitrakshak Samiti, a conglomerate of several Muslim organisations in the state, on Tuesday called on state Congress president Bharatsinh Solanki and requested the Congress not to support the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017 when it is tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

9.35 am: “In reading its contents, it becomes clear that the Bill was prepared without proper due diligence or regard for its consequences,” writes Salman Anees Soz for #ExpressOpinion. Read more here.

9.25 am: BJP-ally Shiv Sena has also asked for the bill to be sent to a select committee. The government, meanwhile, feels no need for it as the legislation has already been debated upon in the Lok Sabha. “There is no need to go to any committee because the issue has been debated. What should be the fate of triple talaq affected women? There is a greater consensus within the country that there should be a stringent law, preventive mechanism to give protection to Muslim women. I am confident that all parties will cooperate in Rajya Sabha,” Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan said.

9.10 am: “The bill was drafted behind closed doors with no consultation with anyone outside of a select group of ministers and officials. In response to a question in Parliament, this was confirmed as fact. All this while, a propaganda machinery ran a campaign highlighting Narendra Modi’s sensitivity to the issue,” Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala wrote in today’s ExpressOpinion section. Read more here.

9.05 am: A cross-section of Opposition parties, fence-sitters and NDA constituent TDP have demanded that the Bill be referred to a select committee of Rajya Sabha for scrutiny and wider consultation. Read more here.

9.00 am: Renuka Chowdhury, a Rajya Sabha member of the Congress, said her party stood for women empowerment of women since Independence, but it needs to see what has been actually included in the bill. “There is no question of us not standing by anything that empowers women. There is no black and white solution to this, We have to see how the debate evolves… what is actually included and how is it implementable…. and until it is equitable for all women under all clauses of talaq. This is only talaq-e-biddat (triple talaq)”, Chowdhury was quoted as saying by PTI.

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