The Waqf (Amendment) Bill seeks to trouble the Muslims, Congress President and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said in the Rajya Sabha.
Waqf Bill In Rajya Sabha LIVE Updates: After it was passed in the Lok Sabha, the Waqf Bill has been tabled in the Rajya Sabha. Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has presented the bill before the upper house on Thursday.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill seeks to trouble the Muslims, Congress President and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said in the Rajya Sabha.
Had there been some major changes to the 1995 Act, we would have accepted it. But they put in what was already there... I have a comparative statement... The Bill was passed in Lok Sabha with 288 Ayes and 232 Noes. Did everyone accept it? This means that there are drawbacks (in the Bill). You should see this... If you go by 'jiski laathi uski bhains', this will not be good for anyone," he said in the House.
Targeting the Centre over the provisions of the legislation, he said: "Why two non-Muslims are required (to be part of Waqf board)? In Tirupati, do you keep any Muslims? Are there Muslim members in the Ram Temple Trust? Let alone Muslims, you won't put a Dalit Hindu like me also there."
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has presented the Waqf Amendment Bill before the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. This comes after the bill was passed in the Lok Sabha after a gureling 12-hour session.
As he tabled the Waqf Bill in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju urged the Congress and its allies to back the Waqf Amendment Bill.
The ruling NDA government has stated that the bill aims to benefit Muslims and the minority communities, while the opposition has deemed it as "unconstitutional."
The 2025 amendment bill aims to change the name of the Waqf Act, 1995 to the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development Act, 1995.
According to the bill, trusts created by Muslims under any law will no longer be considered Waqf, ensuring full control over the trusts.
As per the amended bill, only Muslims, who are practising the religion for at least five years, only can dedicate their property to Waqf, restoring pre-2013 rules.
The bill also included a key change concerning the inclusion of Muslim women and non-Muslims in institutions such as Central Waqf Council, State Waqf Boards, and waqf tribunals.
Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi termed the Waqf (amendment) Bill as a ‘brazen assault’ on the constitution on Thursday. She also stated, “The bill was in effect bulldozed through.”
She addressed the bill as BJP라이브 바카라 deliberate strategy to keep the society in a state of permanent polarization.
"Whether its education, civil rights and liberties, our federal structure or conduct of elections, Modi government dragging the country into an abyss where our constitution will remain on paper; their intention is to demolish it," she said.
"Yesterday, the Wakf Amendment Bill, 2024 was passed in the Lok Sabha and today it is scheduled to come up in the Rajya Sabha. The bill was in effect bulldozed through. Our party's position is clear. The Bill is a brazen assault on the Constitution itself. It is very much part of the BJP's deliberate strategy to keep our society in a state of permanent polarization," Gandhi said.
Bihar Congress President Rajesh Kumar says, "The Waqf Bill is proof of authoritarianism. This is not an impartial government... The government has brought this bill with malicious intent. The surprising thing is that in Bihar, the government led by Nitish Kumar, which claimed to be impartial, has today stabbed the Muslim community in the back through the actions of its allied parties."
Brushing aside the charges made by the opposition, Rijiju said, "The Bill is not against Muslims... We don't want to hurt anyone's religious sentiments. The Waqf board is set up only to oversee, and not manage, Waqf properties."
"The government has introduced the Bill with a good intention, and thus renamed it as 'UMEED'. No one should have any problem with the name," he added.
The government proposes to rename the Waqf Bill as Unified Waqf Management Empowerment, Efficiency and Development (UMEED) Bill.
(via PTI)
Congress Member of Parliament, Naseer Hussain in the Rajya Sabha, said that the Waqf (Amendment) bill is against Muslims.
Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath launched a scathing attack on the Waqf Board, said, "The Waqf Board had been making baseless claims over lands across cities. Even during the preparations for the Kumbh Mela, they declared that the event's land belonged to them. We had to ask - ”has the Waqf Board turned into a land mafia?"
JPC Chairman Jagdambika Pal said on Lok Sabha passing the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 said: "I consider it my good fortune that my party entrusted me with the responsibility of being the JPC chairman—a major challenge and duty. Over the past six months, I conducted 38 meetings in Delhi from 11 AM to 7-8 PM, listening to all stakeholders. Kiren Rijiju stated that we did not want to rush this bill but rather ensure discussions with all stakeholders."
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.
Hitting back at the grand old party, the LDF questioned why Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi, the MP from Wayanad, did not speak out against the Bill during the debate on it in the Parliament.
"So, can all those who are claiming that the Bill will help the people of Munambam please explain how it will benefit the affected people there?" he asked while speaking to reporters at north Paravur near Kochi.
Satheesan claimed that the Congress stand on Munambam was clear, "that it is not Waqf land".
"It was donated land and in lieu of which money was also accepted from the present residents. So the Kerala government and the State Waqf Board should ensure a permanent title for the people there. We have communicated this to the Christian community also," he said.
DMK MP TR Baalu told PTI, "To protest against the passage of Waqf Bill, we are wearing black in state Assembly as well as here (Parliament) in both the houses. We have also raised the issue of Kachchatheevu (island), which was unconstitutionally ceded by the government of India during 1976 when the President's Rule was there. So, this has to be retrieved immediately."
All Bengal Minority Youth Federation protest against Waqf (Amendment) Bill.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister stated that we have faith that the bill will definitely be passed.
"We have faith that the Waqf Amendment Bill will definitely be passed in the Rajya Sabha as well. The government, under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, is correcting the cancerous issues bequeathed by the Congress government to India one by one... Earlier, some mafia-type people were taking advantage of Waqf but now poor Muslims will reap its benefits..." he said
As the Rajya Sabha saw a heated debate on the Waqf Bill, Union Minister Amit Shah said the Congress is spreading misinformation.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha responded by saying that the BJP is appeasing its vote bank and wants to incite riots.
Participating in the debate on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in the Rajya Sabha, TMC MP Nadimul Haque said: "This bill mentions a condition that a person can create Waqf only after practising Islam for a minimum of five years. I want to ask - who will issue a certificate that a person is a practising Muslim? This is unconstitutional and against Article 14."
Speaking on Waqf Amendment Bill 2025, TMC MP Nadimul Haque said, "This bill mentions a condition that a person can create Waqf only after practising Islam for a minimum of 5 years. I want to ask - who will give a certificate that a person is a practising Muslim?"
Shiv Sena (UBT) Supremo Uddhav Thackeray has accused the Union government of targeting Waqf board land, warning that it could next shift focus to temples, churches, and gurudwaras.
Speaking at a press conference hours after the Waqf (Amendment) Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha, Thackeray said his party opposed the BJP's "fraudulent stand" on the Bill.
He alleged that the government라이브 바카라 move was a "ploy to seize Waqf land and hand it over to its industrialist friends." The UBT leader also added that after Waqf temple trusts could be the next target.
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, RJD leader Manoj Kumar Jha has opposed the bill.
As per reports, the Bihar leader stated that the "environment of the country is going through unrest because there are constant talks of economic boycott of a country, attempts are made at digging the centuries old mosques to find if there is a temple beneath it, Places of Worship is being challenged, the content and intent of this Bill needs to be questioned."
On the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav said: "We have strongly opposed this Bill in both Houses, but some secular parties and so-called secular leaders have been exposed. We have always fought the battle of our ideology, and this time, those who supported this Bill will face a resounding response from the people of Bihar."
Union Minister and BJP chief JP Nadda, while discussing the Waqf Amendment Bill, asserted that the legislation is aimed at the national interest and not vote-bank politics.
"I stand here in support of the Bill and hope that the House will back it as well. Mujhe umeed hai ki UMEED (Unified Waqf Management Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development) ka samarthan hoga. The primary objective of this Bill is to introduce reforms and ensure proper management of Waqf properties. Extensive discussions have taken place on this matter. There are attempts to discredit and oppose this Waqf Bill introduced by the Government of India. As the national president of a responsible political party, I reject this narrative and firmly counter such claims," Nadda said.
The Waqf Amendment Bill is going to put an end to corruption that is eating into our country as termites, actor-politician Kangana Ranaut told reporters outside parliament today. The core message of the Waqf Amendment Bill was the affirmation that no individual, institution, or religious organization is above the law, she added.
Ranaut, the MP from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, applauded the proposed law -- which seeks to improve the management and administration of Waqf properties in India -- and said no person or organisation is bigger than the law or constitution.
"No person, no organisation, even a religious organisation, is larger than the law," she told reporters. "They are not above the law or the constitution. That is the bottom line of this bill. It is our good fortune that corruption which was eating into our country like termites, is now over," she added.
Senior JD(U) leader Mohammed Qasim Ansari resigned on Thursday over his party's support to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.
"...I am disheartened that I gave several years of my life to the party," his letter reads.
Senior JD(U) leader Mohammed Qasim Ansari resigns from the party and all his posts over the party's stand on #WaqfAmendmentBill
"...I am disheartened that I gave several years of my life to the party," his letter reads.