Triple talaq used to paint Oppn black:Jairam Ramesh

The Congress was caught unawares over the triple talaq bill as the Modi government mounted a fresh attack on its leadership for not supporting the passage of the legislation on the last day of Parliament's monsoon session.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar hit out at former Congress president Sonia Gandhi for delaying the passage of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, which the government had listed for consideration in the Rajya Sabha on the last day of the monsoon session on Friday.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh rejected the charges and said the government could well have extended the monsoon session by a day or two to ensure the passage of the bill.

“This whole thing is an elaborate political game and Muslim women are used as fodder,” Ramesh said.

Ananth Kumar wondered how the same bill was passed by the Lok Sabha unanimously but was stalled in the Rajya Sabha with a demand to refer it to a select committee.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel accused the Congress of blocking the bill that aimed to protect the rights of Muslim women.

“Sonia Gandhi had said her stand on the bill was very clear. Now she should say whether she supports the Bill or opposes it,” Goel told reporters here.

Ramesh said the government had never insisted on moving the bill for approval of the Rajya Sabha.

“During a meeting with the Rajya Sabha Chairman, it was agreed to take up two bills – Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Bill and Commercial Courts. There was no mention of triple talaq,” Ramesh told reporters here.

“The motive is not clean. The motive is to paint the Congress and other opposition parties black,” he added.

Ramesh said the Congress had only insisted on certain safeguards in the bill, which the government had incorporated.