india

Updated: Jul 31, 2019 12:51 IST

As the BJP-led national coalition pushed the bill to outlaw instant triple talaq in the Rajya Sabha, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb went on an overdrive to extend support to victims of the practice in the northeastern state.

Deb asked Muslim women who were victims of triple talaq to reach out to his office.

“I would like to solve their issues at the highest priority,” he said, sharing a landline number for the Chief Minister’s office that could be used to directly reach him.

Biplab Kumar Deb’s tweet came hours after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition pulled off a coup of sorts in the Rajya Sabha, getting the house to clear the contentious legislation that had been in the deep freezer for about a year.

The NDA is still shy of a majority in the Rajya Sabha, with 112 members in the 240-member house. But it won the vote with just about 99 votes in favour of the legislation. It helped that a large number of opposition benches were absent when the triple talaq bill – as the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019 is popularly called – was taken up,

Soon after, Biplab Kumar Deb put out his tweet offer that offered victims a one-stop solution.

“My Appeal to all Muslim Sisters of #Tripura who have been a victim of the #TripleTalaq so far can directly meet me and can share their problems directly with me. I would like to solve their issues at the highest priority,” the chief minister tweeted.

The triple talaq bill passed by the Rajya Sabha makes instant talaq a cognizable offence, with provisions for up to three years’ imprisonment, along with a fine.

Although it stands to be a bailable offence, the law provides that bail may be granted only after hearing the wife. A cognizable offence is one for which a police officer may arrest an accused person without a warrant.