Maharashtra: Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde slams Uddhav Thackeray on Waqf Bill

Eknath Shinde criticised Uddhav Thackeray over Waqf Bill. File pic

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde criticised Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray for opposing the Waqf Amendment Bill, accusing him of forsaking Hindutva and the principles of Balasaheb Thackeray.

While speaking to the media, Shinde called it their "biggest crime."

"By opposing this, UBT has revealed its true face. It has been proven that they have completely abandoned Hindutva and the ideals of Balasaheb Thackeray. This is extremely unfortunate. It is a bigger crime than the betrayal in 2019 when he (Uddhav Thackeray) formed a government with Congress in 2019, forsaking Balasaheb Thackeray's ideology," Eknath Shinde said.

He also criticised the leadership skills of Thackeray, calling him "confused".

"Uddhav Thackeray is completely confused. He doesn't even know what decisions to take. When leadership becomes like this, the future of the party is also in darkness," said Eknath Shinde

Additionally, the Deputy Chief Minister stated that the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025 seeks to eliminate the monopoly of a few over Waqf properties while alleging that Congress wants to keep the poor in poverty.

"The Waqf Board was in the hands of a handful of people, but now, with the bill introduced by Modi ji, their dominance will end. This will provide an opportunity for women and children to come into the mainstream. It will benefit the poor sections of the Muslim community, but Congress wants to keep Muslims poor for the sake of votes," Shinde said.

Earlier in the day, Uddhav criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government and stated that his party has opposed the bill.

Thackeray acknowledged that a few rectifications were "good". However, he slammed the BJP being all show and no substance, pointing out that despite repealing Article 370 they failed to secure land for Kashmiri Pandits.

"There are some corrections (for the Waqf board) in the Waqf amendment bill, which are good. However, the experience with the BJP till now is that yanche dakhwayeche daant ani khayeche daant vegde ahe (all show, no substance) ...We supported them during the repeal of Article 370...But I want to ask, did the Kashmiri Pandits get their land? We not only opposed the bill but also the hypocrisy and corruption of the BJP and its plans to give land to its businessmen friends," Thackeray, former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, said during a press conference.

He also took a jibe at the Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju. He said, "Just after the Eid government brought the Waqf Amendment bill and told everyone that this would be beneficial for poor Muslims and they would get many things from it, this was said by Amit Shah and all his allies. Unexpectedly, Kiren Rijiju tabled this bill yesterday," as per the ANI.

On Wednesday, the Lok Sabha passed the Waqf Amendment Bill 2025 after an intense debate, with members of the INDIA bloc strongly opposing the bill, while the BJP and its allies expressed firm support, arguing that it would promote transparency and improve the efficiency of Waqf boards.

The Lower House of Parliament continued its session past midnight to pass the legislation. Speaker Om Birla subsequently announced the results of the vote. "Subject to correction, Ayes 288, Noes 232. The majority is in favour of the proposal," he said.


(With ANI inputs)