New Delhi [India], April 3 (ANI): The Lok Sabha passed the Waqf Amendment Bill 2025 on Thursday after a marathon and heated debate during which members of the INDIA bloc fiercely opposed the legislation. Meanwhile, BJP and its allies strongly supported it, saying it will bring transparency and enhance the efficiency of Waqf boards.
The bill was passed after amendments made by opposition members were negatived. The House sat beyond midnight to pass the legislation.
After a reply to the debate by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, Speaker Om Birla announced that the House was taking up item no. 12 in the listed business—The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025—for a decision. He posed the question of whether the bill should be taken up for consideration and then directed that the lobbies be cleared.
He later announced the result of the division. “Subject to correction, Ayes 288, Noes 232. The majority is in favor of the proposal,” he said.
Parties in the INDIA bloc had decided to oppose the bill, and their members voted accordingly. They also pressed for a division on some amendments. An amendment was negatived with 231 members voting in favor and 238 against it.
The revised bill was introduced by the government after incorporating recommendations from the Joint Parliamentary Committee, which examined the legislation introduced in August last year.
In his reply to the debate, Rijiju slammed the opposition parties for terming the Waqf Amendment Bill as “unconstitutional.” He stated that the law relating to Waqf property has existed for decades and has not been struck down by courts, emphasizing that such words should not be used lightly.
The Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill, 2024, was also passed in the Lok Sabha. The debate in the House lasted almost 12 hours.
Rijiju asserted that after the bill is passed, the poor in the Muslim community would thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The House sat beyond midnight to pass the bill.
“Crores of poor Muslims will thank PM Modi on the bill being passed,” he said.
Rijiju rejected the opposition’s claims that the Bill was “anti-Muslim” and accused some members of refusing to accept the truth, despite Home Minister Amit Shah having clearly explained all issues.
“I want to thank all the leaders for keeping their views regarding the Bill. Some leaders are saying that the bill is unconstitutional, and I want to ask them how they could say that the bill is unconstitutional. If it was unconstitutional, why didn’t the court strike it down? Words like ‘unconstitutional’ should not be used lightly. The Bill is not against the Constitution, as the opposition claimed. We should not use terms like ‘constitutional’ and ‘unconstitutional’ so lightly,” he said.
Earlier, in his speech, Home Minister Amit Shah accused the opposition of trying to build its vote bank by scaring the minority community.
He stated that the government does not intend to interfere in the religious activities of Muslim brothers and the trusts associated with their donations.
“No non-Islamic member will get a place in the Waqf Board’s work related to religious donations. Work of non-Muslim members, appointed in the Waqf Board or its premises, will not be related to religious activities. A person of any religion can become the Charity Commissioner. He will ensure that the board is run according to charity law. This is administrative work, not religious,” the Home Minister said.
“The work of the Waqf Board should be to catch and throw out those who sell Waqf properties. The opposition wants the collusion that was going on in their rule to continue, but this will not happen now,” he added.
Amit Shah stated that if the Waqf law had not been amended in 2013, there would have been no need to bring this bill.
“In 2013, Waqf law was made extreme overnight for appeasement, due to which 123 VVIP properties of Lutyens zone in Delhi were given to Waqf,” he said.
The Home Minister also highlighted the extensive consultations undertaken by the Joint Parliamentary Committee, which examined the Waqf Bill.
“We formed a joint committee, 38 meetings were held, 113 hours of discussion took place, and 284 stakeholders were included. About one crore online suggestions came from all over the country. After analyzing all these, this law was made, and it cannot be rejected like this,” he said.
Participating in the debate, BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, who headed the JPC, said it is among the most important legislations in the third term of the Modi government.
The bill was earlier moved for consideration and passing in the House by Rijiju.
The bill seeks to amend the Act of 1995. It aims to improve the administration and management of waqf properties in India, overcome shortcomings of the previous act, and enhance the efficiency of Waqf boards. The bill also seeks to improve the registration process and increase the role of technology in managing waqf records. (ANI)
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