Stalemate continues over triple talaq bill, govt-opp clash in Rajya Sabha

The fate of the contentious triple talaq bill continued to hang in a balance on the penultimate day of the winter session of Parliament today with the Rajya Sabha witnessing a rancorous debate between the government and the opposition over whether to refer it to a Select CommitteeFinance Minister Arun Jaitley contended the resolutions moved by the opposition to send the Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Marriage Bill to a Select Committee were not according to the rulesThe Congress suggested that the faceoff could be resolved if the government agreed to make provisions for providing financial aid to Muslim women divorced through instant triple talaq and their families after their husbands were sent to jailThe bill which has divided the political class and drawn criticism from several Muslim bodies was passed in the Lok Sabha on December 28Congress member Anand Sharma and TMCs Sukhendu Sekhar Roy wanted their resolutions for referring the bill to a Select Committee which they had moved yesterday to be taken up before any other listed businessSpeaking in unison almost the entire opposition particularly the Congress TMC and the Samajwadi Party insisted on the bill and the related resolutions for referring it to a Select Committee to be taken up first The Telugu Desam Party TDP an ally of the ruling NDA had also backed the opposition demand The TMCs Derek O Brien wanted a vote on the resolutionsWhere we stopped we should continue Yesterday we were all set to go for a division Any further legislative business cannot be taken up unless that the nill is disposed of he saidDeputy chairman P J Kurien said he cannot take up the bill which was not listed in the business for today He however ruled that their resolutionsamendments stood accepted Jaitley the Leader of the House however contested it saying the two amendments were invalid as 24hour notice was not given by the two MPs He also said the composition of the Select Committee proposed by the opposition did not reflect the character of the HouseBoth the resolutions moved do not reflect the character of the House Any proposed committee which is giving one sided view is not a valid resolution A select committee is to work on the resolution and return it to the House he said adding the panel should have representation of various parties proportionate to their strength in the HouseKurien said though there was a rule for giving a notice 24 hours before moving a resolution the chair can waive it As the rival sides put forth their arguments during the cacophony with members on their feet and many in ailes Jaitley saidIf you want to sabotage the bill you will automatically disqualify to be the member of the Select CommitteeLeader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad suggested that the government should include a provision in the bill that it would take care of the financial needs of divorced Muslim women and their childrenWe are in favour of the bill but we are opposed to the provision of imprisonment of the husbands Who will take care of the family Who is going to take care of the expenses of children Government is not worried about that Let the government say it will take care We will accept if the government bears the expenses of the family till the husbands are imprisoned he said and urged the government to accept the suggestionWith rival sides ceding no ground to each other and the uproar continuing unabated Kurien adjourned the House for the day Tomorrow is the last day of the winter sessionThe contentreporting displayed on our website wwwmiddaycom is provided ASIS AS AVAILABLE by us from third party agencies sources without any verification from our side It may contain error bugs and other limitations The readers can rely on the content at their own will Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability data text images video messages or any other material whatsoever or for any claimslossaction that the reader may suffer as a result of relying on the content on our site Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeverCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news current affairs from Mumbai local news crime news and breaking headlines hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the goTrending videos