Amid protest from a few political parties, including those close to the BJP, the Lok Sabha on Thursday passed by voice vote the Bill that makes instant triple talaq or talaq-e-biddata criminal offence, with a jail term of up to three years. The proposal law would be applicable to the entire country, except in Jammu and Kashmir. It would make instant talaq punishable and would be a cognisable, non-bailable offence. Calling it a historic step, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Bill - The Muslim Women (Protection of Right on Marriage) Bill 2017, will act as a deterrent since there have been 100 cases of triple talaq even after the landmark judgment of the Supreme Court delivered in August this year. He said that while 22 Islamic countries, including Pakistan and Bangladesh, had regulated instant triple talaq, there was no effective law in India. Neither Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor Congress president Rahul Gandhi was in the Lok Sabha when when the Bill was passed. The Minister turned down demands from the Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Malikarjun Kharge to refer the Bill to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice. Not having BJD and AIADMK on board will impact the bill's smooth passage in the Rajya Sabha as the Opposition has more numbers than the NDA. E.T. Mohhammed Basheer of the Indian Union Muslim League and Asaduddin Owaisi of the AIMIM alleged that through the Bill the government was trying to bring in a Uniform Civil Code.