Passed in Lok Sabha, Waqf Bill tabled in Rajya Sabha amid opposition

People hold placards in support of the Waqf Amendment Bill, in Bhopal. PIC/PTI

Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday tabled the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, in the Rajya Sabha, asserting that the proposed legislation is not against Muslims or intended to hurt their religious feelings, but seeks to improve the functioning of Waqf properties, address the complexities, ensure transparency and introduce technology-driven management. The Lok Sabha passed the Bill with a 288-232 vote in the wee hours of Thursday after nearly 12 hours of debate.

Tabling the Bill in the Upper House, which was examined and redrafted by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), Rijiju said the proposed legislation has nothing to do with religion, but deals only with properties. The Bill aims to include all the Muslims sects in the Waqf board, Rijiju said. The minister informed the House that there were 4.9 lakh Waqf properties in 2004, which have now increased to 8.72 lakh. Seeking the opposition's support to pass the Bill, Rijiju said it aims to accomplish the unfulfilled tasks of the previous governments.

Muslim Jamaat welcomes Bill

The national president of All-India Muslim Jamaat, Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi, on Thursday welcomed the passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, in the Lok Sabha, expressing hope that it will bring significant economic relief to the underprivileged Muslims.He said the proposed amendments would curb the alleged irregularities in Waqf properties, which, according to him, were previously being misused by vested interests in collusion with land mafias.

Bill Sangh's agenda: Oppn

The Congress, its key ally Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and the LDF on Thursday said that the Waqf Amendment Bill was part of the Sangh Parivar's agenda to divide people on religious lines. Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan said that Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju has made it clear that the Bill will have no retrospective effect.

He termed the Bill as unconstitutional and part of the Sangh Parivar agenda to take away the rights of a particular religious community and harm them. LDF convener T P Ramakrishnan said the BJP government aims to divide people on religious lines. Sharing similar views about the Bill, Indian Union Muslim League supremo Panakkad Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal said it was also an attempt to usurp the Waqf properties.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday called the Bill a weapon, aimed at marginalising Muslims and usurping their personal laws and property rights. In a post on X, the Congress leader said, "This attack on the Constitution by the RSS, BJP and their allies is aimed at Muslims today but sets a precedent to target other communities in the future."

Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Thursday termed the Bill as a "brazen assault" on the Constitution, saying it was part of the BJP's strategy to keep society in a state of "permanent polarisation". Hours after the Lok Sabha passed the Waqf amendment bill, Gandhi said the bill was "bulldozed" through in the lower house.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that the BJP brought the Waqf Bill to "divide the country", and pledged to bring an amendment to nullify it when a "new government is formed after ousting the current regime". "When a new government is formed after ousting the current regime, we will bring a new amendment to nullify this Waqf Bill brought by the BJP," she told reporters. "The BJP brought this Waqf Bill to divide the country," she alleged.

DMK to move SC

Taking strong exception to the passage of the Waqf Bill, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M K his party would file a case in the Supreme Court against the Bill.

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