Parliament Highlights: Lok Sabha Passes Waqf Amendment Bill

Lok Sabha clears Waqf (Amendment) Bill after division of votes; 288 votes in favour, 232 against.

Lok Sabha taking up amendments moved by opposition members on Waqf (Amendment) Bill.

Lok Sabha clears proposal to take up Waqf (Amendment) Bill for consideration after division of votes.

There is no place in the world safer than India for minorities and they are safe because the majority is entirely secular, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Wednesday.

Replying to the nearly 12-hour long debate on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, Rijiju, who is the Union Minorities Affairs Minister, said even minuscule minority communities like the Parsis are safe in India and all minorities here live with pride.

The Opposition has asked for division of votes.

Voting on Waqf (Amendment) Bill underway as debate concludes.

Speaking in Lok Sabha, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju takes a jibe at AIMIM Chief Asasuddin Owaisi; says, “…AIMIM Chief Asasuddin Owaisi raised various issues and made an allegation that for the Muslims, provision is being made for the children of Muslims in the Waqf. Why is no provision being made for the Hindus? I want to tell him that there is already a provision for the Hindus. There is no need to make another law on it…”

Hitting out at the Opposition, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said: “You keep accusing us of appeasement politics. Who is doing appeasement? You keep carrying a copy of the Constitution. Holding the Tricolour and Constitution is a good thing but then saying you need freedom at the same time isn’t. You have to live with the spirit of the Constitution. You say minorities are not safe in this country. Am a minority. There are six minority communities in the country. The smallest minority community is the Parsi group. You never thought about them. PM Modi introduced a scheme for them just so to ensure that they do not get reduced further. Minorities are not as safe elsewhere as they are in India.”

Hamara 12 Nahi Baja, Oppn Ka 12 Baj Gaya Hae, says Kiren Rijiju.

Kiren Rijiju further attacked opposition and said, “In the 1950s, Nehruji came up with a policy to allow tribals to live as per their wish, and that they should be no Christian majority. Those people who are blaming us for attacking the Christians should remember that the one who blocked the entry of Mother Teresa was former prime minister, Indira Gandhi”

Abusing your own country is wrong, and the future generations will never forgive you for that,” Kiren Rijiju launches attack on Opposition parties.

Kiren Rijiju slammed Opposition parties for calling the government’s Waqf (Amendment) Bill ‘unconstitutional’. He said that parties should not throw around words like ‘unconstitional’ so randomly.

“Being a person from the minority community, I can proudly say that no other place in the world is the minority so safe as much it is in India,” says Kiren Rijiju

On demands that why a law similar to the Waqf legislation is not formulated for the Hindus, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said it already exists for the majority community.

JPC Chief and BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, while taking part in the debate on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, said there is “nothing unconstitutional” about the legislation. “Asaduddin Owaisi calls the bill unconstitutional, but he has done the unconstitutional thing by tearing up the bill…I want to ask him why he tore the bill?…

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday tried to corner Shiv Sena (UBT) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, stating that people will soon know whether Uddhav Thackeray’s party upholds Bal Thackeray’s Hindu ideology or follows Rahul Gandhi.

“The Lok Sabha will soon vote on the Waqf Amendment Bill. Maharashtra will soon know whether Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray’s party upholds the views of the revered Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray, the Emperor of Hindu Hearts, or Rahul Gandhi!,” Fadnavis posted on X.

BJP MP and Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill chairman Jagdambika Pal supported the legislation and said that the special body accepted all the recommendations made under its provisions.

Owaisi tore the bill and acted unconstitutionally, says Jagdambika Pal

Owaisi further stated that the bill goes against the constitutional provision of equality of all religions. He notes that non-Muslims will be a part of the governing body, while this is not the case when it comes to other religions.

“Today we heard the Home Minister saying the Board and the Council are separate from Islam. If that is true, then there is no need for this law. You should just make a statutory body. This bill is a grave violation of Article 26,” he added.

“Following the passing of this amendment, only ancient temples will be under protection, not the ancient mosques,” said Owaisi.

“Who will defend my interest…if I cannot depend on the State, Central Waqf Board,” the MP asks after pointing out how the changes proposed in the Bill will lead to non-Muslims occupying key positions on the Board.

Muslim organisation Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) on Wednesday slammed the Waqf Bill as “highly condemnable” and alleged that it paves the way for legislative discrimination against Muslims.

The assertion came as the Bill was being debated in the Lok Sabha.

JIH president Syed Sadatullah Husaini strongly opposed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill terming it “a highly condemnable” move that paves the way for legislative discrimination against Muslims.

Owaisi has asked for division on all his clauses that he has given amendments for.

Owaisi further opposes Waqf Bill and said, “Your only motive is to make muslims feel like second grade citizens. I tear this bill.

“You have so much to worry about the women empowerment. I wish you had shown that kind of sympathy towards Bilkis Bano would have been,” Owaisi said.

Owaisi said, “This bill takes any management from hands of Muslims. Takes away efficiency, empowerment. Waqf Disempowerment In The Name OF Efficiency.”

Owaisi further said, “When you knew there was encroachment then why did you not withdraw bill. 123 properties, there is dispute. Tomorrow some collector will say this is govt property, mosque will become govt property? How? BJP is giving us gyaan since morning.”

If this bill is passed, only ancient temples will be saved not mosques, Owaisi said.

Owaisi further opposed the Bill and said, “Muslim Waqf law is bringing in non-Muslims….completely different from how other religious boards work. This is against principle of natural justice, violation of Article 25 and Article 26. Any designated officer can rule that a masjid is govt property and it can be taken away.”

Owaisi attacked the BJP government and said, “This is an attack on Muslims….This attack is from Modi govt…my mosques are being targeted.”

On the Waqf Amendment Bill, Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali says, “AIMPLB has filed many objections regarding the proposed amendments. Unfortunately, in today’s speech of the Minority Affairs Minister, none of the objections filed by the Muslim community have been taken into consideration… Thats why we are opposing this bill. If this bill is passed by both houses of the Parliament, then we have the option of going to the Supreme Court. The legal experts have clearly said that there are many loopholes in these amendments and many of these amendments are against Articles 14, 25, 26, and 29, and 30 of our Constitution…”

On Waqf Amendment Bill, State BJP president Dilip Jaiswal says, “Debate on Waqf is still ongoing. Such a long debate in Parliament and the manner in which a JPC was constituted show that the Government wants to pass the Bill in a very constitutional manner. Crores of people gave their suggestions to the JPC. JPC deliberated on constructive suggestions and even now the Government is running the House for so long. This is the beauty of Constitutional system of India. We thank PM Narendra Modi who wants to pass this Bill constitutionally. Poor Muslims, Pasmanda Muslims of this country are happy that Waqf, which was controlled by just a few, their control will cease. The most beautiful thing of this Bill is that if someone has to appeal, if they feel there is some injustice due to this law, then they have the right to appeal from Revenue Court to Civil Court to High Court…”

“The Waqf (Amendment) Bill is a weapon aimed at marginalising Muslims and usurping their personal laws and property rights. 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. The Congress party strongly opposes this legislation as it attacks the very idea of India and violates Article 25, the Right to Freedom of Religion,” says Rahul Gandhi.

Engineer Rashid further said, “Article 370 was abrogated by BJP but it was hollowed by Congress.”

Engineer Rashid took a jibe at BJP and Congress.

He said, “BJP openly reminds Muslims of their place Congress backstabs them by dipping them in the sweet nectar of secularism.”

Independent MP Engineer Rashid slams Waqf Amendment Bill.

Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde criticised the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) for opposing the inclusion of non-Muslim members in the Waqf board, questioning whether they would have taken such a stance if Balasaheb Thackeray were alive.

He accused them of harbouring an “allergy to Hindus” and wanting to protect the personal properties of Nizams and Mughals, likening their stance to supporting Aurangzeb.

On Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, Shia cleric Maulana Syed Kalbe Jawad says, “If the Waqf has staked claim to a property, they have done it based on a document, it is for you to prove that it is not Waqf land… You have usurped Waqf land. You should pay rent or compensation for it or give a land in return. You cannot just brush it off saying it’s yours… Nobody is celebrating it. Anyone can wear a burqa and come and celebrate, who knows if they are Muslim or not…”

Kakinada MP Tangella Uday Srinivas of the Janasena Party addressed the Lok Sabha during discussions on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, emphasizing the significant amendments introduced during the Joint Parliamentary Committee hearings.

“One of the major challenges in Waqf property management has been the lack of transparency and accessibility in land records,” he stated, highlighting how this has led to widespread encroachments and legal complexities.

Why a body such as Waqf Board does not exist for Buddhists and Christians, Tejasvi Surya questioned in Parliament. “Today, there are questions being asked on why non-Muslims are added in Waqf Board and Councils. In 2013, Congress expanded the jurisdiction of Waqf Tribunal to include non-Muslims so why can’t we have non-Muslims in Waqf Boards and Waqf Councils,” he said.

“I want to say with pride that if there is any country in the world where Muslims are the safest, it is Hindustan,” said BJP MP Sambit Patra, while speaking during a discussion on Waqf Amendment Bill.