Waqf Bill Sparks Heated Debate in Lok Sabha As Govt, Oppn Clash Over Reforms: Who Said What

The Lok Sabha debated the Waqf Amendment Bill, with the government arguing it improves property administration and the opposition alleging religious interference.

Lok Sabha witnessed a fierce showdown between the government and the opposition members over a key legislation that seeks to improve the administration of Waqf properties in the country. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, was taken up in the lower house of the parliament for consideration and passage. Here's who said what in the parliament.

Kiren Rijiju

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that the legislation has nothing to do with religion but deals only with properties. The government is not going to interfere in any religious institution, and the changes made in the Waqf law by the UPA government gave it overriding effect over other statutes; hence, the new amendments were required, Rijiju said amid noisy opposition protest, adding, You (opposition) tried to mislead the people on issues that are not part of the Waqf Bill. He also claimed that the consultation process of the JPC was the largest ever exercise carried out by a parliamentary panel in India's democratic history.

The minister also alleged that the ordinary Muslims were misled for vote-bank politics for 70 years as no benefits were received by them from such a large pool of land bank. Why are the Waqf properties not used for the benefit and welfare of the ordinary, poor, and downtrodden Muslims? These properties will have to be used for the welfare of the common Muslims, Rijiju said.

Samajwadi Party

Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav called the introduction of the Waqf Bill symbolised the failures of the government. He questioned the coherence of terms like unified waqf management, suggesting that the bill's essence, whether articulated in English or Hindi, remained incomprehensible.

Yadav also alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), despite claiming to be the world's largest political party, was embroiled in internal leadership disputes and was unable to decide on its party president. The SP chief also condemned the intertwining of commerce with religious matters. He criticized the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister for fixating on the figure of 30, likening him to the Hindi idiom Tees Maar Khan, and noted that the Chief Minister repeatedly cited thirty times ten thousand crores, extending his commercial rhetoric even to the sacred Kumbh.

Gaurav Gogoi

Gogoi came down heavily on the BJP and said that their eyes are on the land of a particular community. He emphasised that such changes should strengthen the bill rather than exacerbate problems and disputes, which he argued would result from the proposed amendments.

Gogoi accused the government of attempting to create chaos by enabling cases to be filed across the country, thereby disrupting the “atmosphere of brotherhood.”

He highlighted the existing provisions that allow the Waqf Board to make rules with the state government's permission, which the proposed amendments seek to eliminate. He argued that this move undermines the authority of state governments, which currently hold the power to make rules, including those favouring the survey commissioner.