A day after The Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025 was passed in the Lok Sabha, the treasury and opposition benches engaged in a fierce verbal duel after the Bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday and was scheduled to be passed during the midnight. The second leg of the Parliament Budget session comes to an end on Friday.
Meanwhile, two key Janata Dal (United) leaders resigned from the party headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the party’s support to the passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. They include senior JD (U) leader Mohammed Qasim Ansari and Mohammad Ashraf Ansari, who heads the JD (U) minority wing. JDU is an important part of the Modi-led NDA government which has already officially supported the Bill that comes ahead of the Assembly elections in Bihar.
During the Ràjya Sabha debate on the Bill, Union Home Minister Amit Shah raised the issue of RJD President and former Union Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav calling for strict amendments in the Waqf bill.
Reacting fiercely, Manoj Jha said that citations are not done in this manner. Shah responded by saying that Jha was not the only one who knew how to make citations.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman intervened by appealing to Jha to listen first and then respond, referring to the LoP’s remarks of hearing people first and then reacting. “You are drowning all of us,” she remarked.
Union Minister and BJP national president JP Nadda informed in the Rajya Sabha that more than 200 work hours were spent on discussions on the Waqf issue by the JPC. “We have also discussed with the Waqf Boards in 25 states. During the UPA regime, discussion happened across only 13 states,” he added.“Don’t make this a prestige issue. If some things are not good, there is no harm in fixing it. This Bill is against the Constitution and must be withdrawn,” said Leader of the Opposition in RS Mallikarjun Kharge during the debate.
Former PM HD Deve Gowda, leader of the Janata Dal (Secular), said, “I feel hurt. The way things are being done. How are we behaving? I have never in my life disrespected the Chair? “I support the government, and congratulate them for bringing the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.”
Following a 12-hour debate, the Lower House had passed the Bill with 288 votes in favour and 232 against in the early hours of Thursday. The Bill aims to enhance the administration of Waqf properties, implement technology-driven management, resolve complexities, and promote transparency.
The Lok Sabha engaged in an intense debate on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill for over 12 hours, starting at noon on Wednesday. The Bill was passed with 288 votes in favour and 232 against. Additionally, the Lower House adopted a resolution to endorse the imposition of President’s Rule in Manipur.
Independent Rajya Sabha MP Kartikeya Sharma cited legal judgments to stress that the Waqf board was not a religious body for Muslims, but actually an administrative body. He said the Bill was brought in to bring financial transparency and property registration and that the Opposition’s stance was hypocritical.
JD (U) MP Sanjay Jha said that the RJD-Congress government in Bihar had failed to prevent the 1989 Bhagalpur communal violence as also initiate any investigation, while the perpetrators of the riots were felicitated. He said that the JD (U) government had punished the culprits of the violence and ensured justice to Muslims.
