NEW DELHI: In a major success for Modi Government, Parliament on Tuesday approved a bill that makes instant triple talaq among Muslims a criminal offense after the contentious legislation was passed by Rajya Sabha. The Opposition leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday accused the government of giving information very late. He said "we have come to a consensus on six bills that should be sent to a select committee. This included the triple talaq bill but we were given late information about the tabling of the bill because of which we couldn't inform our party members."
TMC MP Derek O'Brien also accused the government of withholding information on crucial bills. He said, "we were told late Monday night that the triple talaq bill will be presented in the Rajya Sabha."
"The government didn't give us enough information about this. And this is true for the UAPA bill as well. We want to examine these bills" he further added.
It is reported that nearly 20 opposition MPs, including five each from the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, were not present in Rajya Sabha during voting on the contentious triple talaq bill. The ruling dispensation got the 'The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019', passed in Rajya Sabha with 99 members voting in favour and 84 against it. The opposition could have managed to get the nod to send the bill to a Select Committee of the house if its MPs were present in the House.
The five Congress MPs who were absent are Vivek Tankha, Pratap Singh Bajwa, Mukut Mithi and Ranjib Biswal, besides Sanjay Sinh, who earlier in the day resigned from the party. Besides, Congress and SP members who were absent, senior NCP leaders Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel and one member each of Trinamool Congress, DMK, IUML and Kerala Congress were also missing during voting in the house.
Another prominent member who was not present during the voting was KTS Tulsi, who is a nominated member but was against the bill. Besides MPs of opposition parties, not present, abstention by AIADMK, BSP, and TRS also helped the government get its legislation through in the upper house where the ruling party does not enjoy a majority.