New Delhi: Following a long-drawn out debate over the contentious bill that makes instant triple talaq a criminal offence and provides for a jail term to a Muslim man for the crime, the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill 2019 with a vote share of 99-84. While the Congress opposed the Bill citing the criminal angle associated to in and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ally Janata Dal United (JDU) staged a walkout, Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad stressed that the proposed legislation should be not seen as a vote bank politics, as it aims to ensure gender dignity, justice and equality.


"Today is a historic day. Both the Houses have given justice to the Muslim women. This is the beginning of a transforming India," Prasad said while speaking to reporters outside Rajya Sabha. The move comes as a massive political win for Narendra Modi government as the proposed bill has gained clearance from both the Houses - Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and is now slated for approval from the President. 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.

Soon after the bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha, PM Modi took to Twitter hailed the passing of Triple Talaq Bill in Rajya Sabha today. "This is an occasion to salute the remarkable courage of those Muslim women who have suffered great wrongs just due to the practice of Triple Talaq. The abolition of Triple Talaq will contribute to women empowerment and give women the dignity they deserve in our society," PM Modi tweeted.


After the approval of the bill, the practice of instant divorce by Muslim men will be punishable by jail term of up to three years. Replying to a four-and-half-hour debate on the Bill, Prasad  pointed out that since January 2017, as many as 574 triple talaq cases and since the Supreme Court order, more than 300 such cases were reported by the media. "There have been 345 cases of triple talaq after the judgment till July 24. I am a minister in the Narendra Modi government, not the Rajiv Gandhi government," he said.

Various other BJP leaders including Union Minister Giriraj Singh expressed their happiness over passing of the Triple Talaq bill in Rajya Sabha today. "Today is a historic day. From many years, PM Modi has been trying to give the Muslim women their right and it has succeeded today. Triple Talaq bill has been passed in both the Houses. Muslim women will now move forward with freedom and self-respect," Singh tweeted in Hindi.

Here's how other leaders from political landscape reacted to the historic win of PM Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Rajya Sabha:


















Lok Sabha had passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill last week and with Rajya Sabha now approving it, the practice of instant divorce by Muslim men will be punishable by jail term of up to three years. Rajya Sabha also rejected an opposition sponsored motion to send the bill to a Rajya Sabha Select Committee with 100 votes against it as compared to 84 in favour.