Vinayak Raut said PM Modi was like Krishna, who saved Draupadi from Duryodhana and Dushasana.

Shiv Sena lawmaker Vinayak Raut compared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Lord Krishna on Thursday, saying that he has proved himself to be a saviour intent on protecting Muslim women from the menace of instant Triple Talaq.

Mr Raut said this during a discussion on the Triple Talaq Bill, which aims to clamp down on the controversial Islamic practice of husbands divorcing their wives simply by mouthing the word "talaq" thrice, in the Lok Sabha today. According to him, PM Modi had brought the bill to rescue Muslim women from the practice just like Lord Krishna appeared out of the blue to save Draupadi - wife of the Pandavas - from Duryodhana and Dushasana of the Kaurava clan in the Hindu epic Mahabharata.

"Like Lord Krishna came to save Draupadi from Duryodhana and Dushasana, Muslim women have found a brother in Narendra Modi. He is intent on providing justice to them," Mr Raut said in the lower house.

The lawmaker from the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg constituency also accused previous governments of not doing anything to clamp down on the practice. "Previous Congress governments did not dare to touch this subject because they cared more about their vote bank," he said.

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill-2019, also referred to as the Triple Talaq Bill, seeks to replace an ordinance passed by the government in February to make the controversial practice a penal offence.

The opposition dismissed the government's claim that the bill would ensure gender justice, and instead questioned the reason behind the government's haste to implement it. It was also opposed by the Janata Dal United, which maintained that such a law would create a "lack of trust in the society". The bill was eventually passed with 302 votes in favour, and a mere 78 against it.

Although the legislation was passed in the lower house last year, it lapsed after the previous Lok Sabha was dissolved with the bill pending in the Rajya Sabha.