The Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 has been passed in the Lok Sabha. It has been passed after a debate that lasted for about 12 hours in the Lok Sabha. Kiren Rijiju introduced the Waqf Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday at 12 o'clock. The Waqf Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha at 2 o'clock in the night. 520 MPs participated in the voting held at 2 o'clock in the night. 288 voted in favor and 232 voted against. The full name of the Waqf Bill is Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025 and Muslim Waqf (Repeal) Bill 2024. The Waqf Bill has been passed by the Lok Sabha, now the government is hopeful of the Rajya Sabha. Today (3 April 2025) it will be introduced in the Rajya Sabha.
During the discussion, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi tore the bill. He said- The purpose of this bill is to humiliate Muslims. I tear the Waqf Bill like Gandhi. During the discussion on the bill, Home Minister Amit Shah said that non-Islamic will not come under Waqf. There is no such provision. Minorities are being intimidated for vote bank.
Who had how much numbers in the Lok Sabha?
To pass the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, a majority of 272 MPs was needed in the Lok Sabha. This was the number the Modi government had. The BJP has 240 MPs and the alliance partners (like JDU, TDP, LJP, and others) have a total of 293 MPs. In this way, the NDA had 21 more numbers than the majority in the Lok Sabha. In this way, this bill was easily passed in the Lok Sabha.
The Waqf Board could also have claimed the Parliament building
Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju said that if we had not presented this amendment bill, the building in which we are sitting could also be claimed to be a Waqf property. If Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government had not come to power, many other properties would have gone to the Waqf. He said that there will be Shias as well as Sunnis in the Waqf. There will be Bohras as well as Muslim backward classes. There will be non-Muslim experts. Women will also be there. There can be 4 non-Muslim members of the Waqf Board. The presence of 2 women is necessary.
The real test of the government is today in Rajya Sabha
The real test of the Central Government on the Wakf Bill will be in Rajya Sabha today. It will not be easy for the government to get it passed here. The reason for this is that the Modi government does not have a clear majority in the Rajya Sabha. Out of the total 245 seats in the Rajya Sabha, 237 are effective. 8 seats are still vacant. Hence, 119 MPs are needed for a majority. The NDA currently has 112 MPs in the Rajya Sabha. In such a situation, it will have to take the support of nominated and independents.
