We won't let triple talaq bill be passed in Rajya Sabha: Congress leader

Agencies
December 29, 2018

Kochi, Dec 29: The Congress party will not let the triple talaq bill be passed in its present form in the Rajya Sabha, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal said here on Saturday.

The party would join hands with those parties with which it can ally with to defeat the bill in the present form, he told reporters here.

He said 10 opposition parties had come out openly against the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018 when it was introduced in the Lok Sabha.

Even the parties, including AIADMK which supports the government on various issues and the Trinamool Congress, have come out openly against the bill, said Venugopal who is also a Congress floor strategist.

Condemning the bill, he said stringent provisions like criminalisation of a civil wrong were there in the triple talaq bill and it was not at all acceptable for the opposition parties, including the Congress.

"...The bill will not help empower the women", Venugopal said.

The bill, passed by the Lok Sabha on Thursday, is expected to be considered by the Rajya Sabha next week.

He claimed there was no confusion in the Congress-led UPA or party-led UDF in Kerala regarding the bill.

Recalling the passage of the bill in another form in the Lok Sabha in 2017, the Alappuzha MP said the then government could not push the bill in the Upper House due to the stringent opposition from the Congress and other opposition parties.

"That is the reason why the government brought the ordinance and re-introduced the bill again in the Lok Sabha. But the Congress will oppose its passage in the present form in the Rajya Sabha," he said.

The Congress had earlier accused the NDA government of getting the triple talaq bill passed in haste in the Lok Sabha keeping in mind the 2019 general elections.

The party has said its provisions were against the Constitution as well as fundamental rights.

The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the bill criminalising the practice of instant triple talaq, with the government rejecting the contention that it was aimed at targeting a particular community.

The opposition, which had been demanding that the bill be referred to a 'joint select committee', staged a walkout when its demand was rejected by the government.

The bill was passed by the Lower House with 245 voting in favour and 11 opposing the legislation.

It would now go to the Rajya Sabha for passage and if passed would become the law.

Piloting the bill, law minister Ravi Shankar Prasadhad said there should be no politics on the bill, stressing that it was not against any particular community.

Describing the passage of the triple talaq bill as a historic step to ensure equality and dignity of Muslim women, BJP chief Amit Shah had demanded apology from the Congress for decades of injustice.

Comments

Abdullah
 - 
Sunday, 30 Dec 2018

Kade hoke mooth ke nehi done walon ku kya maloom shariyath k bare me? In logon ku nahane hamlogone sikaye. Khane ham logon ne sikaye. Ghosh aur Biriyani Khane hum logon ne sikaye. Dhang se kapde pehan ne hum logon ne sikakye. Building aur Imarathen hamara hai. Independent hum logon ne lade. Ab Hamare billi hame meyaon???!!!

 

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
July 13,2020

Jaipur, July 13: Amid a deepening political crisis in Rajasthan where the number 2 leader of the Congress party Sachin Pilot has revolted, over 200 Income Tax (I-T) sleuths raided the residences and properties of two of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s close confidants.

The Income Tax department has carried out searches at over a dozen locations linked to Congress leader Dharamender Rathore as well as jewellery firm owner Rajiv Arora, both of whom are considered close to Gehlot.

Officials said that the raids that are underway in Jaipur, Kota, Delhi, and Mumbai were done after a complaint of tax evasion was made. Under the scanner, they said, are transactions that were made outside the country.

The curious timing of the Income Tax department’s action against Gehlot’s aides has made the Congress accuse the sleuths of acting on the behest of the BJP.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted: “After all, BJP's lawyers came on the field. The Income Tax Department started raids in Jaipur. When will ED arrive?”

The Congress is facing a cliffhanger in Rajasthan after the open rebellion by deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, who on Sunday night claimed that he had the support of 30 MLAs and that Gehlot was leading a minority government in the state.

However, Congress leader Avinash Pande on Monday said 109 MLAs have signed a letter of support to the chief minister, well above the majority mark of 100. The party has issued a whip to all the MLAs, asking them to attend the Congress Legislature Party meeting at 10.30 am. 

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 11,2020

New Delhi, Jun 11: Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday said the religious and constitutional rights of minorities are absolutely safe in India and it does not need any certificate from anyone as communal harmony and tolerance are in the DNA of the country and its majority community.

Comments of Rijiju, a Buddhist, came after a top Trump administration official has said that the US is very concerned about what is happening in India in terms of religious freedom.

"India doesn't need certificate on communal harmony and tolerance which is in the DNA of India and the majority community in India," Rijiju, who holds the charge of the Union minister of state for minority affairs besides being the union sports minister, said in a statement.

Rijiju said the social, religious and constitutional rights of minorities are absolutely safe in the country.

"A few politically intolerant people are trying to create an atmosphere of fear and intolerance. As a member of the minority community, I feel India is the best country in the world for the minorities," he said.

Samuel Brownback, the US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, said on Wednesday that India has been a country area that spawned four major religions itself.

"We do remain very concerned about what's taking place in India. It's historically just been a very tolerant, respectful country of religions, of all religions," he said.

The trendlines have been troubling in India because it is such a religious subcontinent and seeing a lot more communal violence, Brownback said.

His comments came after the release of the '2019 International Religious Freedom Report'.

Mandated by the US Congress, the report documenting major instances of the violation of religious freedom across the world was released by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the State Department.

India has previously rejected the US religious freedom report, saying it sees no locus standi for a foreign government to pronounce on the state of its citizens' constitutionally protected rights.

"India is proud of its secular credentials, its status as the largest democracy and a pluralistic society with a longstanding commitment to tolerance and inclusion", the government had said earlier.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
February 1,2020

Feb 1: The Congress on Saturday expressed hope that the Union Budget would provide relief to the salaried class through tax cuts and invest in rural India besides providing a healing touch to the common man and industry facing “hardship” since demonetisation.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the last budget led to crashing consumption levels, soaring unemployment and falling GDP. “Budget 2019= Consumption crashed, Unemployment soared, Farm distress surged, Incomes declined, Investments slumped, Public spending fell, GDP nose dived!,” Surjewala tweeted. “Yet, Modiji gave Corporate Tax Cuts of Rs 1,45,000 crore. Let Budget 2020 give tax cuts to Salaried Class and invest in Rural India,” he said

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot hoped the budget fulfils expectations of the common people. “Budget 2020 is the time for NDA government to provide a healing touch to common people and industries facing hardships since noteban. Hope the budget fulfils expectations of common people and provide relief across sections,” Gehlot said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.