Stormy Scenes Likely In Lok Sabha On Wednesday As Waqf Bill Goes To House Floor

Last Updated:April 01, 2025, 19:42 IST

Lok Sabha members will speak on the bill for eight hours– 4.40 hours for the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and 3.20 hours for the opposition

The Lok Sabha is likely to witness stormy scenes on Wednesday as the House will take up the contentious Waqf amendment bill for consideration and passage. Introduced last year, the bill was subsequently referred to a joint parliamentary committee following staunch opposition from INDIA bloc.

Lok Sabha members will speak on the bill for eight hours– 4.40 hours for the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and 3.20 hours for the opposition. Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju will bring a motion to introduce the bill with the revised amendments. After the debate, Rijiju will respond to the debate and seek the approval of the House for its passage.

At the business advisory committee (BAC) meeting, the opposition sought 12 hours for discussion. However, the government insisted on less time so that other legislative business could also be taken up. This led to heated exchange in the meeting between the government and opposition side, leading to a walk out by the opposition.

Later, talking to reporters Rijiju said some parties wanted four to six hours while the opposition insisted on 12 hours.

Government sources say that Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to speak during the debate. 

BJP MPs Jagdambika Pal, Anurag Thakur, Nishikant Dubey, Justice (retired) Abhijit Ganguly, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Kamaljeet Sehrawat, and Tejasvi, Surya will speak on the bill in the Lower House while Sudhanshu Trivedi, Bhagwat Karad, Medha Kulkarni, Radha Mohan Das Agarwal and Brij Lal will put forth the party’s view in Rajya Sabha. 

Waqf Bill To Clear Parliament Hurdle Easily

The political heat and length of the debate are unlikely to have any bearing on the final outcome as the numbers favour the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in both houses of Parliament. 

The opposition has a lower strength in the Lok Sabha, where the NDA has 293 MPs out of a current strength of 542. The BJP has often succeeded in pulling the support of independent members and parties.

Currently, the Rajya Sabha’s strength stands at 236 so the ruling NDA needs 119 MPs for a majority. But the NDA does not need to worry as it has 123 MPs, including the BJP’s 98, four of the JD(U), two of the TDP, three of the NCP, and one of the RLD in Jayant Chaudhary. 

All major parties have issued a whip to all its MPs in the Lok Sabha, ensuring their presence in the House for the next three days.

Since the Modi government relies heavily on support of Nitish Kumar’s JDU and Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP in Parliament, some opposition leaders still feel these leaders will oppose the bill. However, three-line whip by JDU and TDP indicate they will support the bill. 

Meanwhile, Sanjay Jha, Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) from the JDU, said his party has requested ally BJP to not implement the Waqf law retrospectively.

“Our party had said that it should not be implemented with retrospective effect, and we hope that the government will consider it… As long as Nitish Kumar is in politics, interests of the people will be protected,” Jha said.

Congress, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, DMK, Lalu Yadav’s RJD and the Left parties have announced to oppose the bill in the Parliament.

Congress’ deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi alleged that their voices were being ignored and said the opposition parties wanted more time to debate. They also wanted the House to take up more issues, including the situation in Manipur and the row over electors’ photo identity cards.

What Is In Waqf Bill?

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, and the Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill, were introduced in the Lok Sabha last year with an aim to streamline the Waqf Board’s work and ensure the efficient management of Waqf properties.

The objective of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, is to amend the Waqf Act, 1995, to redress the issues and challenges in regulating and managing Waqf properties. The Amendment Bill seeks to improve the administration and management of waqf properties in India. It aims to overcome the shortcomings of the previous act and enhance the efficiency of Waqf boards by introducing changes such as renaming the Act, updating the definitions of waqf, improving the registration process, and increasing the role of technology in managing waqf records​.

The primary objective of the Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill, is to repeal the Mussalman Wakf Act, 1923, a colonial-era legislation that has become outdated and inadequate for managing waqf properties in modern India. The repeal aims to ensure uniformity, transparency, and accountability in the administration and management of waqf properties under the Waqf Act, 1995, thus eliminating inconsistencies and ambiguities caused by the continued existence of this redundant law​