Parliament face-off likely today as Lok Sabha takes up Waqf bill
The Waqf bill will test the cohesiveness of the NDA as the BJP needs the support of key allies in both Houses.
New Delhi: The Lok Sabha will take up the contentious Waqf amendment bill for discussion and passage on Wednesday, setting the stage for confrontation in Parliament on what is among the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government’s flagship initiatives in its third term.
The Lower House will discuss for eight hours a new draft of the bill that accepted 25 recommendations made by a joint parliamentary committee, including retaining the crucial waqf-by-user clause and implementing the draft legislation only prospectively. The bill will be also discussed in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
The bill will test the cohesiveness of the NDA as the BJP needs the support of key allies in both Houses. On Tuesday, the party appeared confident as allies such as the Janata Dal (United), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), and Telugu Desam Party signalled their support, issuing whips to their lawmakers.
But early signs of confrontation were visible in the Lok Sabha’s business advisory committee (BAC) meeting on Tuesday after the Opposition walked out over the time allocated for discussion. Some parties, including the Congress and the Samajwadi Party issued a three-line whip to its MPs and Trinamool Congress lawmakers threatened that it won’t be easy for the government to pass the bill in both Houses. Union minister for parliamentary affairs Kiren Rijiju said the walkout was an excuse to avoid discussion on the bill.
“We want a discussion on the waqf bill, but the Opposition is only resorting to fear mongering and trying to obstruct the legislation. The walkout by the Opposition today was an excuse to avoid discussion,” the minister said.
Members of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance called an emergency meeting to formulate a joint strategy on the bill. In the Lok Sabha BAC, Trinamool Congress and other opposition parties demanded that the government discuss President’s Rule in Manipur first. They also demanded 12 hours of debate on the waqf bill.
As the government didn’t relent, the opposition parties walked out of the meeting, which was chaired by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
Later, Congress’s deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, said the parties walked out because their views were not being heard. “The government is simply bulldozing its agenda and not listening to our views...we wanted a comprehensive discussion on the bill and the resolution on Manipur but the government did not heed our advice.”
