BJP issues whip on triple talaq legislation
New Delhi: The BJP is believed to have issued a three-line whip to its MPs asking them to be present in the Lok Sabha on Thursday when the government plans to introduce the bill that criminalises the practice of instant triple talaq.
Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will introduce the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights and Marriage) Bill that seeks to protect the rights of married Muslim women and prohibits "any pronouncement (of divorce) by a person upon his wife by words, either spoken or written or in electronic form, or in any other manner".
In a bid to ensure that the introduction is smooth, the BJP is understood to have issued the whip so that any stiff opposition from members on the other side at the introduction stage could be thwarted.
The bill proposes to make the triple talaq practice a punishable offence and describes it against "constitutional morality" and "gender equity".
Anyone who pronounces instant divorce "shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and a fine", the bill proposes.
Clerics and several Muslim organisations, cutting across sects and schools of jurisprudence, have opposed the bill, terming the government's stand as "uncalled for interference" in the personal laws of the community.
Earlier, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar asked all opposition parties to help pass the bill in Parliament.
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Woman held for murdering her nephew over farm land dispute
Latur (PTI): A 34-year-old woman has been arrested for allegedly killing her seven-year-old nephew over a land dispute with his parents in Chakur town of Latur district in Maharashtra, police said on Monday.
The boy, who is a grandson of a local temple priest, went missing on Sunday morning. After an unsuccessful search, the family approached the police around 1 PM. The body of the boy was recovered by the police near an old house along the Chakur-Ujalamb road.
During the investigation, police detained the aunt of the boy based on leads provided by a dog squad.
According to preliminary findings, the woman allegedly strangled the boy over an agricultural land dispute. She then attempted to conceal the body and destroy evidence.
"In a bid to deflect suspicion, she also staged a false disappearance of her son," police said, adding that further investigation is underway.
