The Bill making triple talaq illegal with up to three years in jail for the husband has taken another step with the Lok Sabha passing it.
The bill was passed with most of the leading parties in the Opposition, including the Congress party, voting in favour of the bill, but with caveats. It was passed after the House rejected a string of amendments moved by various Opposition members
The Centre on Thursday termed the decision as 'historic' and asserted confidence that it would be passed in Rajya Sabha as well.
Talking to media, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "I am very happy that this historical bill has been passed in Lok Sabha. I am happy to see that the majority in the House were in the support of the Bill. This matter has nothing to do with religion, ritual, tradition, etc. but is related to women justice and their dignity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government is standing with the victims of Triple Talaq and will fight to attain justice."
Prasad, earlier in the day, exhorted the Lok Sabha to not link Triple Talaq bill with religion, politics or vote bank.
Echoing similar sentiments, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said, "It's a historic day, we are confident that it will be passed in Rajya Sabha as well."
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Meanwhile, Ananth Kumar said that the decision will lead to the empowerment of women.
The Congress party extended its support for the Triple Talaq bill tabled by the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government in the Lok Sabha, adding that there were certain lacunae in it that needed to be rectified before bringing it into force.
However, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi said that the Triple Talaq bill violated the fundamental rights of Muslims.
He also alleged that the Centre gave an advantage to the offenders and was not helping the situation.
All the amendments moved by Asaduddin Owaisi, Biju Janata Dal's (BJD) Bhartruhari Mahtab, the Congress party's Sushmita Dev and the Communist Party of India's (Marxist) A. Sampath were negated in the Lower House of the Parliament.
Meanwhile, the passed bill will now be introduced in the Rajya Sabha for passage before it is forwarded to the President for signing it into a law.
The bill, if implemented into a law, will make Triple Talaq a criminal offense. It proposes a three-year jail term for a Muslim man who divorces his wife in any form of spoken, written or by electronic means such as email, SMS, and WhatsApp.