Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla says Sonia Gandhi's ‘bulldozed’ remark on Waqf Bill ‘most unfortunate’; BJP seeks apology

Waqf Bill: Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla slammed Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sonia Gandhi's “bulldozed through” remark on Waqf (Amendment) Bill and called it “most unfortunate”, stating it goes against dignity of parliament democracy. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded apology from her amid uproar in lower house on Friday.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju raised the issue and requested the Speaker to provide a ruling on it.

What did Sonia Gandhi say on Waqf (Amendment) Bill?

While speaking at the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) general body meetingi n Samvidhan Sadan, Gandhi hit out at BJP, saying, “Yesterday, the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024, was passed in the Lok Sabha, and today, it is scheduled to come up in the Rajya Sabha. The bill was in effect bulldozed through. Our party's position is clear. The Bill is a brazen assault on the Constitution itself. It is very much part of the BJP's deliberate strategy to keep our society in a state of permanent polarization.”

Gandhi alleged opposition leaders in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were not being permitted to present their views, stating, “It is a matter of grave concern to our democracy that the LOP in the Lok Sabha is not permitted to speak. Similarly, time and again, the LOP in the Rajya Sabha, Khargeji, is also not allowed to say what he wants to say and indeed must say.”

She added, “Like you, I have been witness to how the House gets adjourned not because of us but because of the protests by the Treasury Benches themselves. This is quite extraordinary and shocking, designed to prevent the Opposition from raising their concerns that would put the Government on the spot.”

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Sonia Gandhi

Birla said that the senior congress leader was “casting aspersions on the house proceedings which is not appropriate" noting the House sitting till late, with division thrice on the bill and passing it as per rules.

Debate on the Waqf (Amendment) bill

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday started the13 hours and 53 minutes debate, one of the longest-sittings, on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, and ended on Thursday (midnight). It saw 288 members supporting it and 232 opposing it, while the upper house had 128 members voting in favour and 95 against it.

Various leaders attacked each other, with AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi stating the intent was to make Muslims “second-class citizens”, whereas Home Minister Amit Shah accused the opposition of “fear-mongering” for the sake of “vote bank” politics.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the party will contest the constitutionality of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in the top court. He called the passage of the bill an “assault of the Narendra Modi government on the Indian Constitution".

(With inputs from PTI)