The Opposition stalled the Triple Talaq Bill in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday and the massive ruckus led to the adjournment of the Upper House till 11 am on Thursday. The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017, seeks to criminalise the practice of instant triple talaq.

The Bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday afternoon after the house was adjourned till 12 pm earlier in the day owing to ruckus created by MPs over violence and the tense situation in Maharashtra.

Chaos in Rajya Sabha

Ruckus had erupted after the Opposition demanded the Bill to be sent to a standing committee for re-examination. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, however, blamed the Opposition and said that the parties were planning to sabotage the discussion.

Congress wants to lower the three-year imprisonment term to two years. The party also wants the Bill to be amended and recognise it as a non-cognisable offence.

Congress' Anand Sharma moved the notice and even proposed the names of committee members for the panel.

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RS adjourned till 12 pm. (Representative Image)RAVEENDRAN/AFP/Getty Images

Jaitley rejects Opposition demand

In reaction to Sharma's action, Jaitley said that the house is taken by surprise that a motion has been suddenly moved as it had not been submitted a day before.

"The motion has to be given at least 24 hours in advance," said Jaitley.

"Reason why it should not be referred (to select committee) is that when the practice was declared unconstitutional, two of the judges held it as unfair and used their extraordinary power to suspend it for six months, which expire on February 22" Jaitley asserted.

Opposition hits back

However, Derek O'Brien of Trinamool Congress rejected Jaitley's allegations.

Congress also hit back at Jaitley.

"He (Arun Jaitley) referred to the judgement of SC, I want to correct the record because I appeared in the case on behalf of Muslim Personal Law Board. What he said was in the context of the minority judgement," said Kapil Sibal of Congress.

Here are the names suggested for the standing commitee to re-examine the Bill.

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said that despite Supreme Court banning instant triple talaq, it is still being practised. 

Meanwhile, SP MP Naresh Agarwal has allegedly insulted Muslim women.