After the Parliament passed the Waqf Amendment Bill 2025, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Friday said that the politics of division will harm the nation
Our Bureau
New Delhi
In a major development, the Parliament passed the Waqf Amendment Bill 2025 in the early hours of Friday after a marathon and heated debate. Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said, “Ayes 128 and Noes 95, Absent zero. The Bill is passed.”
The Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill, 2024′ has also been passed in the Parliament. The House sat beyond midnight to pass the legislation. Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju accused the opposition parties of trying to mislead people on the Waqf Amendment Bill and said it will benefit crores of people from the Muslim community.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill of 2025 was a “watershed moment” and that this would help the marginalised, who have been “denied both voice and opportunity.”
“The passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and the Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill by both Houses of Parliament marks a watershed moment in our collective quest for socio-economic justice, transparency and inclusive growth. This will particularly help those who have long remained on the margins, thus being denied both voice and opportunity,” PM Modi posted on X.
Highlighting the importance of debate and dialogue, the Prime Minister expressed gratitude to all the MPs who contributed to strengthening the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and the Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill.
Earlier, replying to the over 12-hour-long debate on the bill in Rajya Sabha, Rijiju said several suggestions made by the Joint Parliamentary Committee had been incorporated in the revised bill. “When the Waqf Amendment Bill was first drafted and the bill that we are passing now, there are a lot of changes. The bill would have been completely different if we had not accepted anyone’s suggestions,” he said.
He said the BJP-led government was not scaring anyone and accused the opposition parties of trying to create a scare among members of the minority community. “You are trying to create a scare and trying to take (them) away from the mainstream. Do not mislead in the future..it (the bill) will benefit crores of Muslims,” he said.
Rijiju said once a property is declared a Waqf property, its status cannot be changed and this has to be done by following the due process.
Rijiju also accused the Congress-led UPA government of denotifying 123 prime properties on the eve of Lok Sabha polls in 2014 due to “vote bank politics”.
The government introduced the revised bill after incorporating the recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, which examined the legislation introduced in August last year. The bill seeks to amend the Act of 1995 and improve the administration and management of waqf properties in India.
The Bill aims to overcome the shortcomings of the previous act and enhance the efficiency of Waqf boards, improving the registration process and increasing the role of technology in managing waqf records.
Parties of the INDIA bloc have strongly opposed the bill.
There was a din briefly when Sudhanshu Trivedi was speaking on the bill. The BJP member said that the Muslim community, which was earlier identified with talented, creative people from the Bollywood, was now sought to be identified by people who faced cases for breaching the law. He took some names.
With some members of opposition raising strong objections, Amit Shah said the BJP member had not made remarks about the Muslim community as such but taken names of some people facing cases who were associated with the INDIA alliance.
After the Parliament passed the Waqf Amendment Bill 2025, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Friday said that the politics of division will harm the nation. “125 to 92 on the amendment and 128 to 95 for the passing of the bill. They are the majority in both Houses. Substantial numbers have opposed the bill. This will have political implications, especially for the political parties that have supported the BJP because there are elections in Bihar coming up… The politics of division will harm the nation,” Sibal said.
