AFTERa marathon debate that lasted over 12 hours, the Lok Sabha passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025 well past midnight on Wednesday with Home Minister Amit Shah categorically assuring the Muslim community that the new Bill does not interfere with their religious practices. The debate, which started on Wednesday afternoon, went past midnight with a division of votes, as the Bill was passed with 288 MPs voting in favour and 232 against. The National Democratic Alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party aced the test in the lower house backed by its own big numbers and support from its allies including the Telugu Desam Party and Janata Dal. Before voting, the debate saw somefierceexchangebetween the Treasury and Opposition benches after Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju moved therevisedversionoftheWaqf (Amendment)Bill,theUnified Waqf Management Empowerment,Efficiencyand Development Bill (UMEED).

 

Union Home Minister Amit Shahspeakinginsupportofthe Waqf (Amendment) Bill stated, “Unknowingly orfor politicalreasons, several misinformation is being spread by Opposition MPs.Waqf means ‘donation for religious charities inthename ofAllah’.Waqf is one type of charitable endowment without any intention of taking it back. Donations can be done only ofone’s ownproperty, notgovernment property”. Shah further clarified, “No provision to appoint any nonMuslim member to Waqf. We do not wish to do this.

 

There will be no interference in Muslims’ religious matters. They are opposing this to appease their vote banks.” In the course of the debate many Opposition members slammedthegovernmentcalling the Bill as an attack on the basic structure of the constitution. Deputy Leader of Congress inLokSabhaGaurav Gogoi said, “Through thisBill, thegovernmentwantstodilute the constitution, defame the minoritycommunities, divide the Indian society, and disenfranchise the minority communities.” AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi staged a symbolic protestagainsttheBillbytearing a copy of the legislation. Participating in the debate, the Hyderabad MP cited the example of Mahatma Gandhi while he was in South Africa. Hesaidifonereadshistory,one would find what Mahatma Gandhihadsaidaboutthelaws of white South Africa. “Mahatma Gandhi had said ‘My consciencedoesn’taccept this’ and he tore it up,” Owaisi said. “LikeGandhi,Iam alsotearing up this law.

 

This is unconstitutional. The BJP wants to create divisiveness in this country in the name of temples and mosques. I condemn thisandIrequestyoutoaccept the 10 amendments,” he said. Replying to the nearly 12- hour long debate Rijiju said evenminusculeminoritycommunitiesliketheParsisaresafe inIndiaandallminoritieshere live with pride. “Some members have said that minorities are not safe in India. This statement is completely false. There is no place saferthanIndiaforminorities. I am also a minority andwe all arelivingherewithoutanyfear and with pride,” he said after the debate onthe contentious Bill. The minister said wheneveraminoritycommunityfaces persecution, it always comes to India to take refuge and cited the examples of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan community,minoritiesofPakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

 

“Minorities of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan came to India afterfacing religious persecution in their respective countries. Howcan you saythatminoritiesare not safe in India.Very, very wrong to say this. “Thecominggenerationwill never forgive you. Minorities in India are safe because the majorities of the country are fully secular. This is not the case in Pakistan, Bangladesh andAfghanistan.But still, you abuse us,” he said. Rijiju said through the Bill, the NDA government is going to unify all minorities in the country.Healsohighlightedthe “wholehearted”supportofthe Christian community for the Bill. He said a large number of disputes are pending with the Waqf tribunals and through thelegislation,thegovernment wants to expedite these cases. “We want to expedite the resolution of the disputes in the tribunals. Justice delayed is justice denied. Widows, divorcees, andorphanswillbe givenjusticethroughtheBill," he said. 

 

 

AS PARLIAMENT debated the contentious Waqf Amendment Bill, 2025, on Wednesday, Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi came down heavily on the Government. He said, “Today, they have their eyes on the land of a particular community; tomorrow, they will target the land of other minorities in society 

 

 

 

TRINAMOOL Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee on Wednesday strongly opposed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, calling it a direct violation of the Constitution. He claimed that the Bill “hits the basic structure” of the Constitution and encroaches upon the rights of the Muslim community to manage its religious affairs. bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb Waqf Bill aimed at polarisation: Akhilesh NEW DELHI, Apr 2 (PTI) SAMAJWADI Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said in the Lok Sabha that the Waqf Amendment Bill is aimed at polarisation and will send a wrong message to the world denting the country’s secular image. He alleged, the Bill has been introduced to manage BJP’s “diminishing” vote bank and will prove to be a “waterloo” for the BJP

 

 

AS THE Bharatiya Janata Party-led Government tabled the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in Parliament on Wednesday, some Muslim bodies denounced it while some of them lauded the Bill. All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) official said, it will be detrimental rather than beneficial for Muslims, a senior. “The AIMPLB and other Muslim organisations have conveyed their concerns over the Bill to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), but they were not considered,” Maulana Khalid Rashi Farangi Mahali, who is a senior executive member of the Board, told PTI. “We have urged all MPs to consider the sentiments of the Muslim community and reject the proposed amendments,” he said while asserting that Waqf properties hold religious significance comparable to fundamental Islamic practices. In Bareilly, Ittihad-e-Millat Council chief Maulana Tauqeer Raza said that the Bill would not be accepted under any circumstances.

 

“We cannot approve any such Bill, nor can we support anything that goes beyond the constitutional framework. We will oppose the Waqf (Amendment) Bill through democratic means,” he said while talking to reporters. He emphasised that the resistance against the Bill has not been adequate so far. He alleged that the Bill, which is being brought, aims to harass Muslimsandseize theirlands. However,somelegalexperts havewelcomed theprovisions in the Bill. Syed Naseruddin Chishty, Chairman of the All India Sufi Sajjadanashin Council, dismissedclaimsbysomeMuslim organisations that religious properties would be taken away once the Waqf (Amendment)Billgetscleared from the House. He urged people not to believe such statements, stating that the Bill only seeks to introduce stricter regulations to prevent the misuse ofWaqf properties. He claimed that those benefiting illegally from Waqf assets are the ones spreading these false claims, as the new amendments would put an end to their interests. Commenting on organisationsopposingtheBill,hesaid, “Everyone has the right to protest in a democracy. However, since the common citizens of the country might not have been able to fully understand the Bill,they have accepted whatevertheirleaders are telling them.”

 

“I believe that one might opposeorsupportcertainsectionsof a Bill, buttoclaimthat mosques or other religious properties will be taken away iscompletelyfalse.Idonotsupportsuchmisinformationand only trust what the Governmenthasstated.Others should also rely on official statements rather than baseless rumours,”he further said. In Varanasi, lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain said the Bill has curtailedseveral“unchecked” powerspreviouslyheldbyWaqf boards, which is a “positive step”. He pointed outthat certain aspects of the Bill still needed debate, though. “Thereisnoprovisiontotake back the property of any other religion or trust which has been declared as Waqf property. We have registered our protest against this,” he said.