The Waqf Amendment Bill 2025 was passed in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. The government passed it after a 12 -hour long and hot debate that lasted late at night. On the one hand, the opposition warned it to go to court, calling it unconstitutional, while the ruling party called it historic.
BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “I am satisfied that a historic decision has been taken and the Waqf (Amendment) Bill has been passed. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill will benefit poor Muslims.”
The BJP leader and Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) President Jagdambika Pal attacked the opposition to spread “lies” on the bill and said that this would benefit poor and Pasmanda Muslims.
Pal told ANI on Thursday, “Today is a historic day. Now not only will poor Muslims benefit, but people of OBC and Pasmanda communities will also get representation in the Waqf Board. The government has introduced a bill to make Waqf more transparent and Muslims will benefit from it. The opposition is lying.”
Union Minister Prahlad Joshi said, “This is a very important and historical bill. This is a great improvement and this will ensure justice for all.”
BJP MP Anurag Thakur said, “The Waqf (Amendment) Bill is a new hope. Poor Muslim families were deprived of this benefit and assets worth more than Rs 2 lakh crore; Over nine lakh acres of land in the last 75 years was given in the hands of only 200 people. The Congress never worked to benefit poor Muslim families.”
Union Minister Giriraj Singh said, “We have improved the mistakes made by the Congress in 2013 in the name of appeasement politics and took care of the poor and women. We hope that the poor will get the right to their land in future.”
BJP MP Tejashwi Surya said, “This is a very historical reform. An institution that was opaque, corrupt and non-answer is finally rational. The bill was a long-pending reform. It is actually a indication of a new dawn for India and especially the Muslim community.”
Union Minister and National President of Lok Janshakti Party Chirag Paswan said, “If some amendments are being introduced for betterment, then the opposition should also cooperate. If transparency will come, why they have objections. Just because the Prime Minister, the NDA has brought the bill, they (opposition) are saying that it is wrong. All opposition leaders are giving generalized statements. They are responsible for the pathetic situation of Muslims according to the Sachar Committee.
Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde said, “Today a revolutionary bill has been passed in the Lok Sabha. I congratulate the government for this corrective change. This bill will benefit poor Muslims.”
BJP MP Dilip Saikia said, “The behavior of AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi in Parliament is unconstitutional. The Waqf Amendment Bill will give a big benefit to Muslims. This bill is historic and it will also stop the politics of appeasement of the opposition.”
The Lok Sabha passed the Waqf Amendment Bill 2025 after a long debate, during which the members of the Bharatiya Janata Party strongly opposed the law, while the BJP and its allies supported it strongly saying that it would bring transparency and increase the efficiency of the Waqf boards.
After Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju responded to the debate, Speaker Om Birla announced that the House is taking the item No. 12 -Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 for the House’s decision. He said that the question is whether the bill should be taken for consideration and then he said that the lobby should be cleaned.
Later he declared the result of division division. He said, “Subject to the amendment, yes 288, no 232. The majority is in favor of the proposal.”
In the India alliance, the parties decided to oppose the bill and their members voted accordingly. He also pressurized some amendments to vote. An amendment was rejected, in favor of 231 members and 238 members voted in the opposition.
The amended Bill has been brought after the government included the recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, which had investigated the bill submitted in August last year.
Responding to the debate, Rijiju said that the opposition parties were criticized for calling the Waqf Amendment Bill a ‘unconstitutional’. Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that the law related to Waqf property has been in existence for decades and it has not been canceled by the courts and such words should not be used lightly.
The debate in the Lok Sabha lasted for about 12 hours. Rijiju said that after the bill is passed, the poor people of the Muslim community will thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The House remained sitting for more than midnight to pass the bill. He said, “Crores of poor Muslims will thank Prime Minister Modi for the passage of this bill.”
The bill provides for amending the 1995 Act. The purpose of this bill is to improve the administration and management of Waqf properties in India. It aims to remove the shortcomings of the previous Act and increase the efficiency of Waqf boards, improve the registration process and increase the role of technology in the management of Waqf records.
