Opposition parties for sending triple talaq Bill to select panel

At a meeting chaired by Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu, a sizeable number of Opposition parties, including Congress, advocated sending the triple talaq Bill to a select committee.

The parties, including the SP, the BSP, the AIADMK, the DMK, the CPI, the CPI(M) and the BJD, have demanded detailed deliberations on the criminality clause, under which a man can be sentenced up to three years in prison for abandoning his wife through talaq-e-biddat or instant triple talaq.

The AIADMK and the BJD opposed the legislation in the Lok Sabha.

DMK's working president M K Stalin on Friday made his party's stand clear on the issue.

The Congress has not yet spelt out on record their stand. "It can't be black and white; it will evolve as per the debate in the House,"Rajya Sabha member Renuka Chowdhury said.

CPI MP D. Raja said, "Why should we employ such haste in clearing a bill that will impact a sizeable population of the country."

The Trinamool Congress, which remained mum during the debate in the Lok Sabha, did not say a word in the morning meeting. "In West Bengal, 30 per cent of the vote bank consists of Muslims. The perception is that women are for this Bill, while men are opposed to it. We do not want to take a stand that will hurt either," a TMC MP said.