Wakf Bill: After Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha passed it by 128-95
#News Bureau April6,2025
The much-discussed and controversial Waqf Amendment Bill, 2025 got the approval of Parliament. The Rajya Sabha passed the bill by a vote of 128-95 late on Thursday night and early on Friday. It was passed by the Lok Sabha a day earlier. Thus, the bill has now been passed by both the Houses of Parliament and will become law after the signature of President Draupadi Murmu. This bill is considered to be one of the biggest legislative achievements of the third term of the Narendra Modi government.
The support of NDA allies as well as some non-India Block parties was decisive in the passage of the bill in the Rajya Sabha. Along with the Waqf Amendment Bill, the Rajya Sabha also passed the Muslim Waqf (Repeal) Bill, 2025.
There was an intense debate in both the houses of Parliament for two days on the Waqf Amendment Bill. The discussion that started in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday continued till Thursday morning, in which the bill was passed by 288-232 votes after a debate that lasted more than 12 hours. After this, the bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, where once again the debate went on for more than 12 hours.
According to the government, the Waqf Amendment Bill aims to streamline the management of waqf properties, enhance transparency and implement technology-based management. Some of its key provisions include:
-Provision has been made for the inclusion of non-Muslim members in the Central Waqf Council and State Waqf Boards, which the government said is necessary for inclusiveness.
-The bill ensures that women get their inheritance before waqf declaration, as well as special provisions for widows, divorced women and orphans.
-The condition for declaring waqf property is that the donor has been practicing Islam for at least five years.
-In case of claiming government properties as waqf, an officer of the rank above the collector will investigate and take a final decision.
-The mandatory contribution of waqf institutions has been reduced from 7% to 5%, and there will be a state-sponsored audit of institutions with an income of more than Rs 1 lakh. Also, property management will be automated through a centralized portal.
-According to the government, the Waqf Amendment Bill aims to streamline the management of waqf properties, enhance transparency and implement technology-based management. Some of its key provisions include:
-Provision has been made for the inclusion of non-Muslim members in the Central Waqf Council and State Waqf Boards, which the government said is necessary for inclusiveness.
-The bill ensures that women get their inheritance before waqf declaration, as well as special provisions for widows, divorced women and orphans.
-The condition for declaring waqf property is that the donor has been practicing Islam for at least five years.
-In case of claiming government properties as waqf, an officer of the rank above the collector will investigate and take a final decision.
-The mandatory contribution of waqf institutions has been reduced from 7% to 5%, and there will be a state-sponsored audit of institutions with an income of more than Rs 1 lakh. Also, property management will be automated through a centralized portal.
Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju defended the bill, saying it is not against the Muslim community in any way but aims to benefit poor and underprivileged Muslims. “The Waqf Board is a statutory body and should be secular. We have limited the number of non-Muslim members to only 4 out of 22. This bill does not interfere with Muslim properties but brings transparency,” he said. Rijiju accused the opposition of trying to scare Muslims.
Home Minister Amit Shah also said in the Lok Sabha, “The opposition is spreading confusion for vote-bank politics. This bill does not interfere in religious matters but prevents misuse of Waqf properties.”
Opposition parties, especially the Congress and the All India Alliance, called the bill unconstitutional and anti-Muslim. Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said, “This bill is not very different from the 1995 law, except for some provisions that will destroy the rights of the people. The government wants to harass minorities.”
Kharge raised the question, “Are there Muslim members in Tirupati temple or Ram Mandir Trust? Then why are there non-Muslims in the Waqf Board?”
Referring to the bill being passed in the Lok Sabha, Kharge said, “288 votes were in favour and 232 against. This means that there are flaws and shortcomings in this bill. The government is getting it passed forcibly. Waqf means donation, not collecting money. The donor can be a Muslim, Hindu or Christian. You are trying to snatch the rights of minorities.”
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While asking the government for an account of the budget allocation and expenditure for minorities, he said that in the last five years, Rs 18,274 crore was allocated, out of which Rs 3,574 crore was not spent. Kharge quipped, ‘This shows their thinking towards the poor.’ He further said, ‘You reduced the allocation from 4700 crores to 2608 crores in the financial years. Is this their welfare? You are cutting their budget. This shows that you are not working for the economic well-being of minorities.’
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi called it an ‘attempt to create conflict in the name of temple-mosque’ and protested by tearing a copy of the bill in the Lok Sabha. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi called it a ‘weapon to marginalize Muslims’.
Now this bill will go to the President, after whose signature it will become a law. With the implementation of this bill, major changes are expected in the management of Waqf properties, but along with this, political and social debate is also likely to intensify. The government is calling it a step for poor Muslims, while the opposition is calling it an attack on the Constitution and minority rights.
