The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019, better known as the Triple Talaq Bill, was passed in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
The ruling BJP comfortably managed the number in favour of the legislation, which criminalises instant divorce by Muslim men.
In the 240-member House, 99 members voted in favour of the Bill, 84 opposed it while 57 members stayed away — by either walking out, abstaining or being absent. Minutes after the vote, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that by abolishing triple talaq, “Parliament corrects a historical wrong done to Muslim women.”
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30 MPs absent
As many as eight Congress MPs were absent during the vote including Sanjay Singh, who resigned hours before the Bill was put to vote.
Janata Dal (U) and the AIADMK walked out. Members of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) participated in the debate opposing the Bill but were absent during the voting process.
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Also absent were high profile Opposition leaders like the NCP’s Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel. Two other members of their party — Majeed Memon and Vandana Chavan — opposed the Bill.
Opposition members had earlier moved a resolution to send the Bill to Select Committee.
A divided Opposition helped in clearing the Bill which was passed in Lok Sabha last week.
BSP’s Satish Chandra Mishra also opposed the Bill but at the time of voting, all the four party MPs were absent. CPI-M's Jharna Das Baidya who claimed that she was given an offer by Home Minister Amit Shah to join the BJP last week, was also absent.
Five-hour debate
The Bill was debated for around five hours. Mr. Shah was present in the House when BJP's floor managers fanned to garner support.
He later tweeted, “this act will free Muslim women from the curse of regressive practice.”