Waqf showdown: INDIA bloc gears up for united opposition to Bill in Parliament

New Delhi: The Opposition INDIA bloc came together on Tuesday to form a united approach to oppose the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which is set to be discussed and passed in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

The meeting, held at Parliament House, brought together key leaders from various Opposition parties to coordinate their response ahead of the Bill's introduction. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and KC Venugopal, Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav, NCP’s Supriya Sule, TMC’s Kalyan Banerjee and AAP’s Sanjay Singh attended the discussions. Also present were DMK’s T R Baalu, Tiruchi Siva and Kanimozhi, RJD’s Manoj Kumar Jha, CPI-M’s John Brittas, CPI’s Sandosh Kumar P, RSP’s N K Premachandran and MDMK’s Vaiko.

"All the Opposition parties are united and shall work together on the floor of the Parliament, to defeat the Unconstitutional and divisive agenda of the Modi Govt on the Waqf Amendment Bill," said Mallikarjun Kharge in a post on X.
KC Venugopal also criticised the Bill, calling it “a targeted legislation. It is also unconstitutional. We, the INDIA parties, who believe in the Constitution are going to vote against the Bill." He further asserted, "This is a clear-cut violation of the Constitution. People who believe in the Constitution will definitely oppose it."

Venugopal also highlighted the concerns of the Christian community, saying, "The concerns of the Christian community regarding its churches have to be addressed." He added, "We want the Munambam Waqf land dispute issue to be resolved." The dispute over around 400 acres of land in Ernakulam district, Kerala, has generated major controversy.

TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee said, "We will participate in discussion and voting as well. We want to have a discussion, but the BJP doesn't want to do that. We want to discuss the matter on the floor of Parliament. We want to participate in the voting but the BJP will not allow us to discuss."

RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha warned, "If BJP-led Central Government tries to 'bulldoze' the Opposition, it will be forced to withdraw the Bill." He further elaborated, "We stand in opposition of the Bill because it is unconstitutional. It is synonymous with dog whistle politics. We have said during farmers' protests to the government that you have the majority but don't bulldoze us." He added, "They bulldozed us and they had to withdraw the (farm) Bills. The same thing will happen to this Bill as well. The BJP wants to give a sense of alienation to the Muslim community in a targeted manner."

PTI