Rahul thwarted passage of triple talaq bill: Ananth Kumar
New Delhi, Aug 10 : After the triple talaq bill could not be taken up in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, the government blamed Congress President Rahul Gandhi for thwarting passage of the bill.
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Ananth Kumar said even though the bill could not be taken up in the monsoon session, the government would keep on trying to protect the interests of Muslim women.
"We will keep the struggle on. Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his party are directly responsible for delaying the passage of the bill. They have blocked it from day one. They unnecessarily raised the issue of sending the bill to the select committee," Kumar told reporters outside the Parliament.
However, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi said her party's position is absolutely clear on the bill.
"Our party's position is absolutely clear on this. I will not say anything on this further," said Sonia Gandhi on the Triple Talaq bill.
"In Lok Sabha, there was absolute consensus when it was passed. Congress and other parties were also part of the discussion there. There was no division there. Then why they are blocking it in Rajya Sabha? This is the double standard of the Congress party ... they do something in Lok Sabha and the opposite in Rajya Sabha," he said, adding this is the true face of the Congress party.
"This is an injustice done to crores of Muslim women. Triple Talaq is a big issue of gender justice. I would urge the Congress to understand it and pass the bill with a consensus," Kumar said.
The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017 has been deferred to the next session of Parliament as the Rajya Sabha decided to not take it up on Friday, the last day of the monsoon session, Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu announced.
In the evening, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad insisted that the bill be taken up, but the Chairman said he would not proceed without a consensus on the issue.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
MP boat tragedy: Death toll rises to 10 with recovery of one more body; 3 tourists still missing
Jabalpur (PTI): The body of a child was retrieved on Saturday evening from Bargi Dam in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh, raising the death toll in the cruise boat tragedy that took place two days ago to ten, while search continued for three missing tourists.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, capsized during a storm on Thursday evening with some of the survivors alleging negligence and safety lapses such as life jackets not being distributed in time.
The body recovered on Saturday evening was possibly that of six-year-old Viraj Soni, said Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra.
"The identity will be confirmed after family members identify the body," he told PTI.
Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory at Khamaria, his five-year-old son Tamil, and another child Mayuram (5) who had come from southern India were still missing.
Authorities have arranged equipment to search deep waters of the dam and are getting a generator to facilitate diving operations, Mishra added.
Divers and disaster response teams have expanded the search radius to five km, he said.
Of the 41 identified passengers on board the ill-fated vessel, 28 were rescued, police said.
More than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, joined the search operation that resumed at 5 on Saturday morning. The operation, involving the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and local divers, was briefly affected at around 9 am due to strong winds, officials said.
Post-mortem examinations of nine deceased persons have been completed, Mishra said.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will also register a First Information Report in the case soon," he said.
Police said CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the boat while the identities of 41 passengers have been confirmed so far.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the tragedy and dismissed three crew members. It also banned operation of similar vessels in the state.
