1st pre-budget session all-party meet: Govt hopeful of passing triple talaq bill
The session was also attended by PM Modi who urged the leaders to ensure success of the Budget Session.
New Delhi: Ahead of the Budget session of Parliament beginning on Monday, representatives of the Government and the opposition met in Parliament House on Sunday to discuss the issues and proposed legislations which would come up.
The session was also attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who urged the political leaders to ensure success of the Budget session.
“The PM said the budget session is very important and the Government takes very sincerely the suggestions given about it by opposition during discussion,” Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told reporters after the meet.
Speaking on the issue of triple talaq, the minister said that the Government would do everything to ensure passage of triple talaq bill in the Budget session.
He also said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will leave no stone unturned in talking to and convincing the political parties on the issue.
“We hope the Triple Talaq Bill is passed in Rajya Sabha too. My colleagues and I will leave no stone unturned in talking to and convincing the political parties. The way they have passed GST unanimously, we request them to pass this too unanimously,” Ananth Kumar said.
Rashtriya Janata Dal and other opposition parties raised issues related to Dalits, farmer suicides, unemployment, and Koregaon violence, among many others in the all-party meeting.
The Budget session of the Parliament will be conducted from January 29 to April 6, with phase 1 to be held from January 29 to February 9 and the second phase from March 5 to April 6.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present the Budget 2018 for the fiscal year 2018-19 on February 1.
On January 29, President Ramnath Kovind will address the joint sitting of the two Houses while the Economic Survey will be tabled on the same day. This will be the first Budget in the post- GST (Goods and Services Tax) era and the last full budget from Jaitley ahead of the general election in 2019.
The session is likely to see important bills, including one for the commission for backward classes and another on Triple Talaq.
The triple talaq bill which was passed in the Lok Sabha was stalled in the Rajya Sabha by a united opposition.
The instant triple talaq bill criminalises the practice of instant divorce among the Muslim community, with up to three years in jail for the husband.
(With inputs from PTI)