Waqf Bill Sparks Political Storm: Kiren Rijiju Claims Opposition Leaders Secretly Support It While Publicly Opposing for Vote Bank Politics

New Delhi: As the Lok Sabha prepares to debate the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju has stirred controversy by claiming that several opposition leaders privately support the bill despite publicly opposing it.

“Many Congress leaders and opposition parties privately admit that this bill is necessary, but they oppose it in public for vote bank politics,” Rijiju said ahead of the bill’s tabling.

The bill, which seeks to regulate the management of Waqf properties and curb alleged misuse, has been a flashpoint between the ruling BJP-led NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc. While the government argues that the bill aims to protect the rights of poor Muslims, the opposition claims it is discriminatory and unconstitutional.

Rijiju also accused religious leaders and political parties of misleading “innocent Muslims” and compared the opposition’s resistance to the bill to their earlier objections to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). “They said the CAA would strip Muslims of their citizenship, but that never happened. Similarly, the misguidance over this bill will also be exposed,” he said.

The bill was first introduced in August 2024 but was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) following strong opposition and protests by Muslim organizations. After intense deliberations, the JPC approved 14 amendments while rejecting 44 proposed by opposition MPs. The committee’s proceedings even saw dramatic moments, including Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee injuring himself after smashing a glass bottle in protest.