Bhubaneswar: With the Centre likely to move the Triple talaq Bill in Rajya Sabha today, the Biju Janata Dal has confirmed to media that it will support the passage of the much-awaited legislation to make instant divorce among Muslims a punishable offence.
BJD MP and its floor leader in Rajya Sabha, Prasanna Acharya was quoted by news agency ANI as saying that his party will support the bill in the Upper House.
The Lok Sabha had passed the bill to criminalize Triple Talaq on July 25 amidst a walkout by Opposition members, who accused the government of singling out a community. The bill was passed with 302 votes to 82 in Lok Sabha.
Experts opined that the move of BJD is a predictable one, as the ruling party in Odisha has been tilting towards the BJP-led NDA front at the Centre. Prior to elections, the BJD had opposed the passage of the bill and also did not participate in the voting for introduction of the bill the Lok Sabha citing inappropriateness of some of its clauses last month.
Similarly, the BJD had recently lent its support to the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill which was passed in both the Houses of the Parliament.
At present the NDA needs 121 members in the Upper House to pass the bill while it has only 110 members. The ruling coalition at the centre is banking on the support of non-NDA and non-UPA parties such as BJD to pass the bill.
The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019 or the Triple Talaq bill, seeks to criminalize the act of instant divorce among Muslims with a three-year jail sentence for men who practice Triple Talaq, which has been declared illegal by the Supreme Court.