Waqf (Amendment) Bill cleared in Lok Sabha after 12-hour marathon debate

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, has been passed after a huge showdown in Lok Sabha, and now faces a test in Rajya Sabha, with an 8-hour debate planned.

In Short

• Debate on Waqf (Amendment) Bill lasted for 12 hours in Lok Sabha
• Centre rallied behind bill, Opposition called it "unconstitutional"
• Parliament saw fiery showdown, voting that lasted past midnight

A marathon debate of 12 hours, a back and forth of claims and rebuttals between the Centre and the Opposition, and voting on multiple questions - the Lok Sabha saw a huge drama unfold before the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, was finally cleared. With 288 votes in favour and 232 against, the bill was passed after a prolonged debate and several deliberations that lasted past midnight, and now faces a test in the Rajya Sabha.

The Waqf bill was introduced by the government, alleging that the existing Waqf law was altered in 2013 during the Congress-led UPA regime for appeasement politics. The charge was repeated several times by many BJP leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who warned that the Opposition was "spreading misconceptions" over the Waqf bill.

The Waqf bill debate, which was originally allotted eight hours, stretched to over 12 hours in the Lok Sabha. While the Opposition alleged attempts at diluting the Constitution, the BJP hit back with a "fearmongering" charge.

ATTACKS AND COUNTER-ATTACKS

In a fiery start to the debate, the NDA and its allies put up a united front, rallying behind the contentious bill. In contrast, the INDIA bloc also seemed determined to oppose the bill, calling it "unconstitutional".

Amid uproar from the Opposition, Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju tabled the bill in Parliament, announcing it would be renamed the Unified Waqf Management Empowerment, Efficiency and Development (UMEED) bill.

Backing the bill, Rijiju said it was necessary to ensure transparency in the running of Waqf boards, and clarified that it would not "snatch" the land or mosques of the Muslim community.

Countering him was Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi with his '4-D' attack, alleging the bill would "dilute the Constitution, defame minority communities, divide Indian society, and disenfranchise minorities".

Following hours of arguments for and against the bill, Union Home Minister Amit Shah issued a big clarification on one of the provisions of the bill in the evening. He said that non-Muslims would only be part of the Waqf board and would have no role in religious affairs. "First of all, no non-Muslim would come into the Waqf. Understand this clearly...There is no such provision to include any non-Muslim among those who manage the religious institutions; we do not want to do this," Shah clarified.

One of the biggest points of opposition to the bill by some parties was the provision to include non-Muslim experts. While Kiren Rijiju said that move was aimed at making the board more secular, the Opposition stood against it.

Hours later, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi also vehemently opposed the bill, and even symbolically ‘tore’ it, likening the act to Mahatma Gandhi's defiance of unjust laws. He cited Article 14, which guarantees equal protection under the law. "A Muslim will face restrictions on waqf property, and the encroacher will overnight become the owner," he said.

Finally, Kiren Rijiju, who tabled the bill in Parliament, replied to the over 12-hour long marathon debate and slammed the Opposition for terming the bill "unconstitutional". He also asserted that there is no place safer for Muslims than India. Rijiju said whenever a minority community faces persecution, it always comes to India to take refuge and cited the examples of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan community, minorities of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.

MULTIPLE QUESTIONS AND VOTING

Right after Kiren Rijiju's closing remarks on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill ended, the house was open for voting on it.

However, the process was prolonged with voting on several questions, including whether to consider the bill for voting. After multiple rounds of voting on various questions, the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 was cleared in Lok Sabha at around 1:57 am.

The Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill, 2024, earlier tabled in Parliament in August last year, was also passed.

While the Waqf bill has cleared the Lok Sabha, it now faces a test in Rajya Sabha on Thursday, with an eight-hour debate planned there as well.