20 Islamic nations have banned instant divorce, why can't India, asks Ravi Shankar Prasad

The Lok Sabha began debate on the the revised Triple Talaq bill bill on Thursday to make the Muslim practice of instant triple talaq illegal a punitive offence amid a reservation by opposition parties against the proposed law .

Ravi Shankar Prasad debating Triple Talaq bill

New Delhi: The Lok Sabha began debate on the the revised Triple Talaq bill bill on Thursday to make the Muslim practice of instant triple talaq illegal a punitive offence amid a reservation by opposition parties against the proposed law . Introducing the bill Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said it was not against any community or religion. “This bill is not against any community, religion or belief. This bill is for the rights of women and about justice ,” the minsiter said. Prasad added that 20 Islamic nations had banned the practice of instant triple divorce and asked why a secular nation like India could not do it . “I request that this should not be looked through the prism of politics,” he said. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said his party was willing to participate in a debate on the issue but demanded that the bill be sent to a select committee, an idea which was also backed by the Trinamool Congress. "We will discuss the bill. The government shouldn't interfere in religious matters," Kharge said, citing Article 25 of the Constitution on 'freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion'.The government, he said, is interfering in every religious matter. AIADMK leader P Venugopal, TMC's Sudip Bandhopadhyay, AIMIM's Assaduddin Owaisi and Supriya Sule (NCP) also made similar demands.