Waqf Bill sparks Rajya Sabha debate after LS passage.
• Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju tabled the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, in the Rajya Sabha, a day after the legislation was passed in the Lok Sabha with 288 votes in favour and 232 against.
• The Bill aims to promote transparency, accountability, and efficiency in the management of Waqf properties, with only a Muslim becoming a ‘Waqif’.
• The Minister denied allegations that the law is unconstitutional, illegal, and is snatching away the right of Muslims.
• Properties already registered with proper documentation will not be dealt with retrospectively. The law will only intervene in case of a disputed land.
• Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain criticized the law as a “targeted legislation against the Muslim community” and a tool of “dog whistle politics” to alienate Muslims.
• RJD MP Manoj K. Jha alleged that the provision of non-Muslims on Waqf Boards was a secular clause, unlike in the inheritance Boards of other religions.