After 12 hours of attack & counter-attack Waqf Bill clears Lok Sabha with 288 in favour, 232 against
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 was passed in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. The bill got the approval of the House by 232 votes against 288. The meeting of the House continued till about 2 o'clock in the night to pass this important bill. Apart from this, the Muslim Waqf (Repeal) Bill, 2024, which repeals the Muslim Waqf Act, 1923, was also passed by voice vote in the House.
Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju introduced the bill in the House on Wednesday and while responding to the discussion, he said that it is in the interest of the Muslim community.
Waqf Amendment Bill has been passed in the Lok Sabha
After the discussion, when Kiren Rijiju proposed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 for consideration, some opposition members demanded a division of votes. It got 288 votes in favour and 232 votes against. However, there was a controversy over allowing many members to enter the House after clearing the lobby. Responding to the objections of the opposition members, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla clarified that toilets have been arranged in the lobby in the new Parliament building and members have been allowed to enter only from the lobby. No one has been allowed to come from outside.
Opposition amendments rejected
An amendment presented by Revolutionary Socialist Party member N.K. Premachandran regarding the provision of two non-Muslim members in the Waqf Board was also divided. His amendment was rejected by 288 votes against 231. All other amendments of the opposition were rejected by the House by voice vote.
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At the same time, three amendments introduced by the government were approved by the House and clauses 4A and 15A were added to the bill.
When the bill was being voted on, Leader of the House Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi were not present in the Lok Sabha.
Modi government takes care of every section: Rijiju
Responding to the discussion, Kiren Rijiju said that the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes care of every section of the society. He objected to the allegations of opposition members that minorities are not safe in the country. He said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has made it clear that this bill will not harm anyone.
Describing today as an important day, he said that crores of Muslim women and children will benefit from this bill.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was sent to the Joint Parliamentary Committee after opposition from opposition MPs. The committee had given its suggestions after 38 meetings in five months. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, incorporating the suggestions of the committee, was introduced in the Assembly on Wednesday.
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