No place in world safer than India for minorities: Rijiju
No interference in Muslims’ religious matters: Shah
New Delhi, Apr 3: The Lok Sabha early Thursday passed the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, after over a 12-hour debate, which saw the ruling NDA strongly defending the legislation as beneficial for minorities, while the opposition describing it as “anti-Muslim”.
The Bill was passed after all amendments moved by the opposition members were rejected by voice votes. It was passed after division of votes — 288 in favour and 232 against.
In his reply to the debate, Union Minorities Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said there is no place in the world safer than India for minorities and they are safe because the majority is entirely secular.
He said even minuscule minority communities like the Parsis are safe in India and all minorities here live with pride.
“Some members have said that minorities are not safe in India. This statement is completely false. There is no place safer than India for minorities. I am also a minority and we all are living here without any fear and with pride,” he said after the debate on the Bill.
The Minister said whenever a minority community faces persecution, it always comes to India to take refuge and cited the examples of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan community, minorities of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
“Minorities of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan came to India after facing religious persecution in their respective countries. How can you say that minorities are not safe in India. Very, very wrong to say this.
“The coming generation will never forgive you. Minorities in India are safe because the majorities of the country are fully secular. This is not the case in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. But still, you abuse us,” he said.
Rijiju said through the Bill, the NDA Government is going to unify all minorities in the country. He also highlighted the “wholehearted” support of the Christian community for the Bill.
He said a large number of disputes are pending with the Waqf tribunals and through the legislation, the government wants to expedite these cases.
“We want to expedite the resolution of the disputes in the tribunals. Justice delayed is justice denied. Widows, divorcees, and orphans will be given justice through the Bill,” he said.
Earlier, the ruling NDA launched a feisty defence of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha amid the opposition’s charge that it was unconstitutional and targeted Muslims, as Home Minister Amit Shah asserted that the government had no intention of interfering in their religious matters and was solely driven by the aim of transparent administration of Waqf properties.
Shah’s intervention came during the day-long debate that witnessed a fierce exchange between the two sides, with Congress Deputy Leader Gaurav Gogoi alleging that the bill was an attempt to attack the basic structure of the Constitution, defame minorities, disenfranchise them and divide the society.
Minorities Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju in his opening remarks rejected the allegation that the proposed law was interference in the constitutionally guaranteed freedom in religious affairs.
The bill has nothing to do with religion, but deals only with properties, he said tabling the Bill, which was examined and redrafted by a joint committee of Parliament.
“The Government is not going to interfere in any religious institution. The changes made in the Waqf law by the UPA government gave it overriding effect over other statutes, hence the new amendments were required,” Rijiju said amid noisy opposition protests.
“You (opposition) tried to mislead the people on issues which are not part of the Waqf Bill,” he said to the opposition.
Both Ministers asserted that the proposed reforms would ensure the welfare of poor Muslims and women.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav claimed that the bill is a BJP’s ploy for polarisation following its reverses in the Lok Sabha polls, alleging that it will send a wrong message to the world denting the country’s secular image.
The bill will prove to be a “waterloo” for the BJP as some of its allies might be claiming to support the bill but inside they are not happy about the development, he said.
“Bringing Waqf Bill is the BJP’s political game, it is a new form of their communal politics. The BJP wants to appease those supporters who are now distancing themselves from the party because of its policies.
After most of the leading opposition leaders had spoken, Shah launched a stout defence of the bill and rejected the most common criticism that the appointment of non-Muslims in the Waqf council and boards violated a community’s right to manage its own affairs.
He also warned against instigating Muslims against the law, noting that an opposition MP had said that the minorities will not accept this. “It is the law of the Indian Government and Parliament. Everyone will have to accept it.”
The bill will become a law after it is notified following its passage in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
Shah said the government is not going to have any say in the matters of Waqf, endowments made by Muslims for religiously charitable and pious purposes, adding that the council and boards are aimed at the management of the properties to ensure that they are used in line with the stated aims behind their donation.
He accused the opposition of “fear-mongering” over the bill’s provisions, saying this is how they raised a vote bank.
He accused the Congress-led UPA government of effecting many amendments in the Waqf law in 2013 for its appeasement politics, saying these changes made the Act “extreme”. Had those changes not been made, the government might not have brought the bill, he added.
He cited a host of instances from across the country about vast properties being claimed by different state Waqf boards, with a section of people involved in their management making personal gains while doing little for the community. The new law will catch such people and throw them out, he added.
“This money is of the poor Muslims not for a few moneybags,” he said, citing the meagre income of Rs 163 crore from Waqf properties.
Citing speeches of several opposition leaders, including RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav, in 2013, he said even they had noted the rampant property grab in the name of Waqf law.
Gogoi argued that the bill had not been adequately discussed with minority representatives.
“In 2023, four meetings of the Minority Commission were held, and yet, there was no mention of the need for a Waqf amendment bill. I ask the government – was this bill drafted by the Minority Affairs Ministry or some other department?”
The opposition MP also raised concerns over Clause 3, which defines individuals practising Islam.
“Minorities are now being forced to prove their religious identity with certificates. Tomorrow, will people from other faiths also have to do this? This is against Article 26 of the Constitution,” he said.
BJP’s Anurag Thakur said, “This bill is not about Hindu versus Muslim, this is law versus lawlessness, Constitution versus corruption.”
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi night staged a symbolic protest against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, in the Lok Sabha by tearing a copy of the legislation.
Participating in the debate on the contentious Bill, the Hyderabad MP cited the example of Mahatma Gandhi while he was in South Africa.
He said if one reads history, one would find what Mahatma Gandhi had said about the laws of white South Africa.
“Mahatma Gandhi had said ‘My conscience doesn’t accept this’ and he tore it up,” Owaisi said.
“Like Gandhi, I am also tearing up this law. This is unconstitutional. The BJP wants to create divisiveness in this country in the name of temples and mosques. I condemn this and I request you to accept the 10 amendments,” he said.
Criticising the Bill, he said it is going to curb the rights of Muslims. (PTI)
