The Waqf Amendment Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha in the early hours of the morning at 2:33 AM, following a marathon 13-hour-long discussion. Out of 223 members present, 128 voted in favor of the bill, while 95 voted against it. Despite strong opposition and a heated debate, the bill cleared the Upper House after the Lok Sabha had already passed it the previous day.Before the final voting, opposition MPs proposed several amendments to the bill. However, all of them were rejected during the voting process. Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju, responding to the discussion, assured that not a single Muslim would be harmed by the provisions of the amendment.Interestingly, BJD MP Sasmit Patra voted against an amendment proposed by DMK’s Tiruchi Siva, signaling support for the bill, even though the BJD did not issue a party whip to its MPs.The bill now awaits the President’s assent to become law. It aims to bring greater transparency and regulation to waqf properties, but the opposition argues it could undermine minority rights and centralize control.
