ANI
04 Apr 2025

New Delhi [India], April 4 (ANI): Nationalist Congress Party (SCP) MP Fouzia Khan on Friday said that they will continue to protest against the Waqf Amendment Bill 2025.

'The bill has been bulldozed just like the farmers' bill...We will continue to protest against the bill...The lands have been donated by our ancestors for religious purposes...Waqf board is a religious body...The bill is unconstitutional and it will be challenged in the Supreme Court and striked off,' Khan said.

Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav said, 'So what if the bill is passed? Those who have the majority, their bill gets passed...'

The Parliament passed the Waqf Amendment Bill 2025 in the early hours of Friday after a marathon and heated debate.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said, 'Ayes 128 and Noes 95, Absent zero. The Bill is passed.'

The Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill, 2024' has also been passed in the Parliament. The House sat beyond midnight to pass the legislation.

Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju accused the opposition parties of trying to mislead people on the Waqf Amendment Bill and said it will benefit crores of people from the Muslim community.

Replying to the over 12-hour-long debate on the bill in Rajya Sabha, Rijiju said several suggestions made by the Joint Parliamentary Committee had been incorporated in the revised bill.

Lok Sabha, which took up discussion on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Wednesday, passed it past midnight after a marathon debate.

Rijiju said that the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, will be renamed as the UMEED (Unified Waqf Management Empowerment Efficiency and Development) Bill.

The government introduced the revised bill after incorporating the recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, which examined the legislation introduced in August last year. The bill seeks to amend the Act of 1995 and improve the administration and management of waqf properties in India.

The Bill aims to overcome the shortcomings of the previous act and enhance the efficiency of Waqf boards, improving the registration process and increasing the role of technology in managing waqf records. (ANI)