Bharatiya Janata Party MP and chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill, Jagdambika Pal, slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for calling the bill “unconstitutional” and asked why the Gandhis skipped the discussion over the controversial bill if they felt so.
Following hours of debates that extended beyond midnight in both houses of Parliament, President Droupadi Murmu granted assent to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Saturday. She also granted assent to repeal the pre-independence Mussalman Waqf Act.
#WATCH | Lucknow, UP | Waqf (Amendment) Bill gets President Droupadi Murmu's assent
— ANI (@ANI) April 6, 2025
Chairman of the JPC of Waqf (Amendment) Bill and BJP MP Jagdambika Pal says, "...A major reform has been done in Waqf by the Narendra Modi government, which will benefit the poor, Pasmanda, women… pic.twitter.com/ZrW2sonJ6W
Reacting to Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s comments against the passing of the bill, Pal said the former and his sister Priyanka Gandhi should have argued clause by clause against the bill if they felt so. “If it was an unconstitutional law, then Rahul Gandhi should have said in Parliament clause by clause that the amendment being made is unconstitutional. He did not give any suggestion on this, did not give any argument, neither Priyanka Gandhi gave any argument,” Pal told ANI.
Pal said long discussions were held in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha over the bill and the Gandhis skipped the discussion. Rahul Gandhi, on Saturday, called out the RSS for an article targeting the Catholic church in its mouthpiece Organiser. Gandhi tweeted, “I had said that the Waqf Bill attacks Muslims now but sets a precedent to target other communities in the future. It didn’t take long for the RSS to turn its attention to Christians. The Constitution is the only shield that protects our people from such attacks – and it is our collective duty to defend it.”
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President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 on Saturday. The controversial bill was passed by both houses of Parliament earlier this week after heated debates that extended beyond midnight. The president also granted assent to Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill, 2025.
"The following Act of Parliament received the assent of the president on April 5, 2025, and is hereby published for general information: The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025," the government said in a notification.
The Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha with 128 members voting in favour and 95 opposing it. It was passed in the Lok Sabha early on Thursday, with 288 members supporting it and 232 against it.
