After Sena Backs JPC For Rafale Probe, Headache for BJP as JD(U) Says No to Vote on Triple Talaq Bill

New Delhi: After NDA partner and long-time ally the Shiv Sena joined the Congress's chorus for a JPC probe into the Rafale fighter jet deal, another BJP ally the JDU has said that if the triple talaq bill comes up for passing in the Rajya Sabha it would vote against the government.

Criticising the bill, the JD(U) said that it was being “rushed”.

The opposition, alleging that the bill is anti-Muslim, has been demanding that it be sent to a select parliamentary committee for scrutiny.

"We feel the way this bill is being rushed, it was avoidable and we feel more consultation should have taken place," senior JD(U) leader Vashishta Narayan Singh told NDTV. When the leader was pressed further on the issue of voting in case the bill comes up, he told the channel, "We will vote against the government".

The statement, however, has not gone down well with the BJP.

CP Thakur, BJP’s Rajya Sabha member and leader from Bihar, said vote bank politics is being played over triple talaq.

"Some political parties feel that if they support the Triple Talaq bill, then they would lose the votes of a particular community,” Thakur said, without naming any party.

Reports say that the Bihar CM had even written to the state's Law Commission, seeking an opinion on whether the party can impose an agenda over a minority community.

The JD(U), sources say, has issues with the criminalisation clause in the Bill which has a provision of three years imprisonment in case of triple talaq. Sources also said the party wanted stakeholders from the Muslim community to be consulted over the Bill.

Defending the government in parliament, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the government was ready for a debate and to hear all suggestions proposed by the opposition, but the Bill must not be put in limbo by sending it to the select committee. He said that even after the Supreme Court judgment had outlawed instantaneous divorce, an instances of triple talaq have been reported.

Prasad said he had incorporated several suggestions made by the opposition during the debate last year on the Bill, including removal of the clause that neighbours of the victim could file a case. “Conditions for bail and mediation have also been added to the Bill as suggested by members,” he said.

The Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha last week amid the walkout by the Congress and the AIADMK.