'Anti-Muslim to Land Mafia Board': Who said what on controversial Waqf Bill during fierce Rajya Sabha debate

The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed the controversial Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, following a debate that lasted over 12 hours. While the ruling NDA defended the bill as beneficial for minorities, the opposition strongly criticized it, calling it "anti-Muslim."

Waqf Bill (Source: ANI)

The Waqf Bill was approved after all amendments proposed by opposition members were rejected through voice votes. It was passed by a division of votes, with 288 in favor and 232 against.

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said, "The government is not going to interfere in any religious institution. The changes made in the Waqf law by the UPA government gave it overriding effect over other statutes, hence the new amendments were required. (Targeting the opposition) You tried to mislead the people on issues which are not part of the Waqf Bill."

"This Bill is an attack on Muslims. The Modi government has started a war on my freedom. My mosques, my Dargahs, my Madrasas are on target. This government is not revealing the truth. This Bill violates Article 14- Equal Protection. Limitations will be imposed. By doing so, the encroacher will become the owner, and a non -Muslim will administrate the Waqf Board. This Bill also violates Equality For Law," Assaduddin Owaisi said.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) Mahua Moitra said, "The Waqf Bill tells every Indian Muslim, you are not an equal citizen of India, know your place, your rights are not the same as ours."

Amit Shah (Source: ANI)

Union Minister Amit Shah said, "Waqf Act and Board came into effect in 1995. All the arguments about the inclusion of non-Muslims inclusion are about interference in the Waqf. First of all, no non-Muslim would come into the Waqf. Understand this clearly... There is no such provision to include any non-Muslim among those who manage the religious institutions; we do not want to do this... This is a huge misconception that this Act will interfere with the religious conduct of Muslims and interfere with the property donated by them. This misconception is being spread to instill fear among minorities for their vote bank."

Akhilesh Yadav (Source: ANI)

Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav said, (Targeting BJP) "A party that claims to be the biggest political party in the world has still not been able to elect its own national president."

CM Yogi Adityanath (Source: X)

"We have already wiped the mafia out of Uttar Pradesh... We are grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for putting a check on the Waqf Board and doing welfare work by passing this important act in the Lok Sabha," UP CM Yogi Adityanath said.

Gaurav Gogoi (Source: ANI)

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said, "What message do you (government) want to give? The community that fought for India's independence, the community that sacrificed its life along with Mangal Pandey in 1857, you want to tarnish the image of that community... This is your divide and rule. Nationalism for us is being united."

Sonia Gandhi (Source: X)

Sonia Gandhi launched a strong criticism of the recently passed Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, accusing the government of "bulldozing" it through the Lok Sabha.

"Yesterday, the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024, was passed in the Lok Sabha, and today it is scheduled for 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 part of the BJP’s deliberate strategy to keep our society in a state of permanent polarisation," Sonia Gandhi said.