The Controversial Bills – The Citizenship Amendment Bill and The Triple Talaq Bill – that were passed in Lok Sabha earlier will now have lapsed after the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday adjourned sine die. This, Budget Session, was the last session of the current 16th Lok Sabha before the Lok Sabha Polls 2019 that are slated for the April-May.
Rajya Sabha adjourned sine die. pic.twitter.com/MFLvkcKpAO
— ANI (@ANI) February 13, 2019
Prior to the adjournment, the House passed a motion of Thanks to the President for his address, 2019-20 interim budget 2019-20 and appropriation bill without any debate.
According to the Rajya Sabha Legislative Procedure, a Bill pending in the Upper House which has not been passed by Lok Sabha does not lapse on the dissolution of the Lower House. But a Bill passed by Lower House (Lok Sabha) and is pending at Rajya Sabha stands Lapsed on the dissolution of Lok Sabha.
Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016
The Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016, that was passed in Lok Sabha on January 8 seeks to provide citizenship to non-muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
The bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, to grant Indian nationality to people belonging to non-muslim minority communities — Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians — in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan after six years of residence in India instead of 12, even if they don’t possess any proper document.
The Bill ever passed in Lok Sabha have led to protests in the North-East States.
Muslim Women Protection Bill [Triple Talaq Bill]
The Triple Talaq Bill remains stuck in the Rajya Sabha in face of a combined opposition insisting that it be scrutinized by a select committee of the House. The Triple Talaq Bill was passed by Lok Sabha in December last year amid opposition uproar. While 245 voters were in favor of the bill, 11 voted against it. It may be noted that the Congress and AIADMK walked out from the Parliament as their demands to get it referred to a select committee was rejected.
Since the bill could not get the parliamentary approval, the fresh ordinance was issued on January 13. The Union Cabinet had before that approved the re-issuance of the ordinance.
The new Bill will deem the practice ‘illegal’, with the husband supposedly facing a prison sentence of three years. The BJP led government had many amendments to the original Bill after it faced a lot of criticism from opposition parties as the earlier don’t have the provision of Bail.
READ: Congress echoes to Scrap Triple Talaq Bill if voted to Power in 2019, BJP slams Rahul, terms Appeasement
Attempts by the government to introduce the Bill in Rajya Sabha in the past six weeks were thwarted by the Opposition which sought it be referred to a Select Committee.
Earlier in the day, the CAG Report on Rafale Deal was presented in the Rajya Sabha. Budget Session that began on 31st December with President Ram Nath Kovind address to both the Houses. The Budget Session saw many adjournments in the Rajya Sabha with Opposition disrupting proceedings on various issues including – Rafale Deal, Special Status to Andhra Pradesh.
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