Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion Underway in Rajya Sabha

New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha is currently debating the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which aims to streamline the management of Waqf properties, enhance transparency, and safeguard heritage sites. The bill is designed to improve coordination between Waqf Boards and local authorities, protect stakeholder rights, and promote social welfare.

A key aspect of the bill is to improve the economic and social status of Muslim women, particularly widows and divorced women, and ensure more inclusive representation on Waqf Boards, with members from various Muslim sects.

Moving the bill, Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju emphasized that the legislation followed extensive consultations with stakeholders and the Joint Parliamentary Committee. He urged opposition parties to support the bill, rejecting allegations that it would allow non-Muslims to interfere with Waqf management. Rijiju clarified that the bill focuses on better governance of Waqf properties without disrupting religious practices.

In contrast, Congress’s Dr. Syed Naseer Hussain criticized the bill, accusing the government of using it for communal polarization and alleged that the BJP is attempting to divide communities. He also raised concerns about the lack of budget allocation for the Waqf council under the BJP government. Union Home Minister Amit Shah responded, dismissing these allegations and accusing the opposition of misleading the public.

Opposition members, including Tiruchi Siva of the DMK and Mohd Nadimul Haque of the TMC, voiced strong objections to the bill, arguing it targets specific communities and undermines the secular fabric of the nation. Haque claimed that the bill weakens the identity of Waqf under the guise of reform. Sanjay Singh of the Aam Aadmi Party called the bill unconstitutional and urged the government to withdraw it.

On the other hand, BJP’s Radha Mohan Das defended the bill, claiming that the previous Congress government failed to improve the lives of poor Muslims. He highlighted several welfare schemes introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, such as Jan Dhan Yojana, Ujjwala Yojana, and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, which, according to him, also benefited the Muslim community.

The discussion is still ongoing, with the Lok Sabha having passed the bill the previous night.