NEW DELHI: In the early hours of Friday, the Rajya Sabha passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill,2025 after a marathon debate that spanned nearly 11 hours. The controversial Bill was passed with 128 members voting in favour and 95 voting against it.
The Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha after all amendments moved by the Opposition members were negated by the House mostly by voice vote. The voting on various amendments moved by Opposition members took up nearly two hours well past midnight.
Announcing the result of the division, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said that 128 members cast their votes in favour of the Bill while 95 were against it.
With the Lok Sabha already giving its nod to the Bill after a heated debate, it has now received Parliament’s seal of approval. The Bill will be sent to the President for her assent. The Bill will become an Act only after the Presidential assent and will be notified as law.
In his reply to the lengthy debate on the Bill, Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju charged the Opposition with scaring Muslims. He reiterated that the proposed legislation is not against Muslims or intended to hurt their religious feelings but seeks to improve the functioning of Waqf properties.
“The Waqf Board is a statutory body and why should only Muslims be included in the statutory body? If there is a dispute between Hindus and Muslims, how will that dispute be resolved?... There can be disputes with non-Muslims in the Waqf Board as well...The statutory body should be secular and people of all religions should be represented...,” Rijiju said in his reply.
Launching a scathing attack on the Opposition, Rijiju said, “You keep asking why are we worrying for Muslims? That the NDA does not have the right to talk about Muslims. Do you mean to say that we should not work for the Muslims?”
He said, “If a section of the Muslims are poor, it is because of you. And it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is helping them. We are completing your unfinished work and you should support us. How can you just highlight your failures?”
BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi said the Waqf (Amendment) Bill has been brought for the benefit of poor Muslims and attacked opposition parties for appeasement politics.
During the discussion on the Bill in Rajya Sabha, Trivedi said the government is supporting the poor Muslims who will feel obliged for the favour in times to come.
“This fight is between Sharafat Ali and Shararat Khan. Our government is standing with Sharafat Ali and we are with poor Muslims,” Trivedi said.
“Our government has supported the poor Muslims and not so called fanatic and fundamentalist thekedars (leaders) in this fight,” he added.
The Congress President and Leader of the Opposition, Mallikarjun Kharge, urged the government not to make it a prestige issue and appealed for the withdrawal of the Bill.
“What you (government) are doing is not good. This will lead to disputes in the country. You are sowing seeds for disputes... I appeal to the Home Minister to withdraw this. Don’t make this a prestige issue. What is the harm in rectifying the errors?...Amendments were made to the Constitution of the country. So, it is correct to withdraw it. This is not good for Muslims. This is against the Constitution...,” Kharge said.
The BJP-led NDA ruling coalition MPs and opposition parties were locked in an intense debate over the Bill which aims to streamline the management of Waqf properties, with provisions to safeguard heritage sites and promote social welfare.
The Bill also aims to improve governance by enhancing transparency in property management and addressing complexities.