New Delhi | The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) has issued a whip to its Lok Sabha MP’s for their presence in the lower house on December 27 when the Triple Talaq bill will be introduced and likely to be put forward to vote.
In a three-line whip, the party has issued a strict instruction to the Members of Parliament from their respective party which necessitates their presence in the House and participates in the voting. Any breach of the whip has serious consequences including disciplinary action against the violators of the whip.
A fresh Bill to make the practice of triple talaq among Muslims a penal offence was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 17 to replace an ordinance issued in September. Under the proposed law, giving instant triple talaq will be illegal and void and will attract a jail term of three years for the husband. The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018 would supersede an earlier Bill passed in the Lok Sabha and pending in the Rajya Sabha.
An earlier Bill was approved by the Lower House. But amid opposition by some parties in the Upper House, the government had cleared some amendments, including introduction of a provision of bail, to make it more palatable. But as the Bill continued to face resistance in the Rajya Sabha, the government issued an ordinance in September, incorporating amendments.
An ordinance has a life of six months. But from the day a session begins, the ordinance has to be replaced by a bill which should be passed by Parliament within 42 days (six weeks), else it lapses. The government is at liberty to re-promulgate the ordinance if the Bill fails to get through Parliament.
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