The Waqf Amendment Bill was finally passed after several hours of debate in the Rajya Sabha. On Thursday, there was a hot debate between NDA and India block MPs throughout the day. In the Rajya Sabha, 95 votes were cast in protest against the bill and 128 votes were cast in favor. Earlier on Wednesday, the Waqf Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha.
Will take the form of law after President’s approval
After the bill is passed from both houses, it will now be sent to the President. This bill will become law after the President’s approval. The opposition was accusing the Modi government that through this bill, the government wants to seize Waqf properties. At the same time, the BJP alleges that the opposition is misleading Muslims for its political gains.
The discussion lasted for more than 14 hours.
Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju introduced the Waqf Bill in the Rajya Sabha at 1 pm on Thursday for consideration and passage. The bill was debated for more than 14 hours. After the debate, the amendments of opposition MPs were voted in turn. Voting on the bill was held late night through automatic vote recording system. After which the bill was passed by majority. Responding to the debate, Kiren Rijiju said that this bill does not harm any Muslim.
232 votes were cast in the Lok Sabha against this.
It is worth noting that the government first persuaded its colleagues by presenting the Waqf Amendment Bill in Parliament on 8 August 2024. It was then sent to JPC. The Parliamentary Committee approved its report on new changes in the Waqf Bill on 29 January. 15 votes were cast in favor of this report and 14 votes in opposition. After this, when this bill came to the Lok Sabha, 520 MPs participated in the voting. Of these, 288 people voted in favor and 232 people voted in opposition.
BJD took U-turn at the last moment
Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the party of former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, changed its stand on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 at the last moment. The BJD strongly opposed this bill. The bill was described against the interests of minorities, but later MPs were allowed to take an independent decision to vote on the bill. The BJD had made it clear that the party would not issue any whip on this bill and its MPs in the Rajya Sabha would be able to vote on the voice of their conscience.
Additional MPs supported in Rajya Sabha
There are currently 236 MPs in the Rajya Sabha, due to which the support of 119 MPs was necessary for the majority. BJP has 98 MPs in the Rajya Sabha. The number of NDA members in terms of alliance was around 118. If we add six nominated members who usually vote in favor of the government, then the NDA will reach 124 in the number of numbers. There were 88 members in the Rajya Sabha of the Bharat Block parties, including the Congress (27).
Due to the BJP’s strategy, the Rajya Sabha cast 128 votes in favor of the bill while 95 members voted against it. It is noteworthy that three BJP MPs were absent during the voting.
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