New Delhi:
A fierce showdown between the government and opposition members is underway in the Lok Sabha over a key legislation that seeks to improve the administration of Waqf properties in the country. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 was taken up in the Lower House this morning for consideration and passage. Union Ministers Amit Shah and Kiren Rijiju were among those who backed the Bill while opposition MPs like Akhilesh Yadav and Gaurav Gogoi vociferously opposed it.
Who Said What
Union Minister Amit Shah: “It was your (Opposition) insistence that a Joint Parliamentary Committee should be formed. We do not have a committee like the Congress. We have a democratic committee, which brainstorms. Our committee discusses, deliberates on the basis of discussions and makes changes. If the changes are not to be accepted, then what is the point of the committee?”
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju: “The government is not going to interfere in any religious institution. The changes made in the Waqf law by the UPA government gave it overriding effect over other statutes, hence the new amendments were required. (Targeting the opposition) You tried to mislead the people on issues which are not part of the Waqf Bill.”
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi: “What message do you (government) want to give? The community that fought for India’s independence, the community that sacrificed its life along with Mangal Pandey in 1857, you want to tarnish the image of that community… This is your divide and rule. Nationalism for us is being united.”
Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav: “(Targeting BJP) A party that claims to be the biggest political party in the world has still not been able to elect its own national president” (Amit Shah’s response to this jibe was pointed at the Congress. Without naming the Congress, he said their presidents were chosen from just five family members).
