NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill after fierce discussion for over 12 hours with the govt countering the opposition’s charges of encroachment on constitutional and Muslim rights and attacks on federalism with a strong defence of the changes in the Act governing Islamic endowments.
The bill was adopted by 288 votes in favour and 232 against, thanks to support from BJP’s ‘secular’ allies, which helped more than bridge the gap between the party’s own numbers and the majority mark. BJP, in any case, was always confident of prevailing in the contest and its confidence came through clearly in home minister Amit Shah’s feisty “you carried out the changes only to keep your vote bank intact, and we have decided to cancel it” declaration.
The bill is expected to comfortably clear the numbers test in Rajya Sabha on Thursday. Although the debate in LS followed the by-now familiar ‘secular versus communal’ trajectory, the smooth passage of the bill marked an important juncture. Coming after the enactment of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which was opposed on the ground of being allegedly anti-Muslim, criminalisation of triple talaq and enactment of the Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand, passage of the Waqf Bill marked the fourth instance where the BJP govt has had its way despite the combined resistance of Muslim outfits and secular parties.
In fact, the latest success counts even more because it was pulled off despite BJP lacking a majority and with the support of ‘secular’ allies who, it seems, are confident of not ending up being losers in the bargain – something which perhaps reflects the assessment that any loss of Muslim support for them would be more than compensated by gains from the partnership with BJP.
Shah’s intervention came during the daylong debate that witnessed a fierce exchange between the two sides, with Congress deputy leader in LS Gaurav Gogoi alleging that the bill was an attempt to attack the basic structure of the Constitution, defame minorities, disenfranchise them and divide society. In his opening remarks, minority affairs minister Kiren Rijiju rejected the allegation that the proposed law was an interference in the constitutionally guaranteed freedom in religious affairs.
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