Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi launched a fierce counterattack Wednesday – after Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju tabled the Waqf Amendment Bill – accusing the BJP-led government of trying to “defame (and) disenfranchise minorities” and staging an “4D assault on the Constitution”.
Mr Gogoi also questioned the government over a contentious provision – that donations can only be made by a Muslim who has been practicing his/her faith for at least five years. It is a sad situation, the Congress leader said, when the government takes it on itself to issue ‘religious certificates’.
“Today the condition of minorities has become such the government will give a ‘certificate ‘of their religion. Will they ask for certificates from other religions also… whether they have completed five years? Why is this being asked of Muslims? Why is the government interfering in religion?”
In his lengthy rebuttal to Mr Rijiju, the Assam leader began by accusing the Union Minister of making misleading statements, which earned him a reprimand from Speaker Om Birla.
“This bill is an assault on the Constitution…” he began, firing a ‘4D’ attack at the BJP. “The aim is to dilute the Constitution, defame and disenfranchise minorities… divide Indian society.”
Mr Gogoi also pointed out the Minority Affairs Ministry did not mention this bill in four meetings of its parliamentary committee in 2023, a year before the amendments were suddenly tabled.
#WATCH | Deputy Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, speaks on the Waqf Amendment Bill
He says, “Did the Minority Affairs Ministry make this bill, or did some other department make it? Where did this Bill come from?… Today, the condition of minorities in the country… pic.twitter.com/QJPNnwcpyI
— ANI (@ANI) April 2, 2025
This talk of “reform” of the Waqf laws – as Mr Rijiju had stressed in his speech – is a diversion to help the BJP dilute the election process and destroy communal harmony, Mr Gogoi continued.
“… in BJP-ruled states Muslims weren’t allowed to offer Eid prayers (on Monday),” he claimed, accusing the government of making a smokescreen of Waqf changes to “vilify minorities”.
The Congress leader also ripped into the functioning of the joint parliamentary committee that had been tasked, last year, with reviewing the proposed changes to the Waqf laws.
Opposition MPs on the committee were furious over their suggestions being discarded and protested further after their dissent notes were excluded from the final report. These notes were later reinstated.
“I have never seen a JPC like this before,” Mr Gogoi said, pointing out the committee did not hold clause-by-clause discussions and that the opposition’s inputs was ignored. “People with no connection to the Waqf boards were called to speak,” he said, underlining a frequent complaint.
#WATCH | Deputy Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, speaks on the Waqf Amendment Bill
He says, “It is said that they (the government) listened to everyone’s opinion. But you know that they did not accept even a single amendment of the opposition. We have also seen… pic.twitter.com/1rNhtqZHBt
— ANI (@ANI) April 2, 2025
Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also spoke in the House.
Mr Banerjee, who was on the Waqf JPB, said the Bengal party “opposes the Bill in its entirety”.
Mr Yadav, who bantered with Amit Shah over the identity of the next BJP chief, said he was eager to see how many women candidates the party will nominate for the October Bihar election.
The reference was to Mr Rijiju’s claim the Waqf amendments are meant to empower women.
“Parliament Claimed As Waqf”
Earlier, Mr Rijiju claimed the Congress had made “questionable” changes to Waqf laws when it was in power, including the denotification of “123 major buildings… given to the Waqf”. The Congress-led UPA government, he said, would have given the Parliament to the Waqf if not stopped.
READ | Kiren Rijiju Blasts UPA Government: “Parliament Was Being Claimed As Waqf”
Mr Rijiju also pointed out the government had removed a “draconian provision” in the existing Waqf laws – a provision, he said, that allowed “any land to be declared as Waqf property”.
Waqf Amendment Bill Timeline
The Waqf Amendment Bill was first tabled in the Lok Sabha in August last year amid furious protests from the opposition, which slammed the proposed law as “draconian”. A day later it was sent to the committee, which filed its report in February after opposition MPs said their views had been ignored.
READ | Opposition MPs In Waqf House Panel Say Their Suggestions Ignored
The BJP refuted that claims; panel member and Lok Sabha MP Aparajita Sarangi said Mr Pal “tried to hear everybody out and gave sufficient time for everybody to move amendments…”
The JPC held nearly three dozen hearings in six months but many of those ended in chaos, and at least one in physical violence after Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee smashed a glass bottle on the table.
Eventually 66 changes were proposed, of which all 44 from the opposition were rejected while the 23 from BJP and allied parties were accepted. After a vote 14 of the 23 were cleared.
READ | Cabinet OKs 14 Waqf Bill Changes By House Panel Amid Row Over ‘Bias’
The removal of an annexure with dissent notes from the opposition triggered another row. The centre said the Chair had the discretion but, after talks, said the notes would be included.
The original draft of the Waqf Amendment Bill had proposed 44 changes.
NDTV Explains | Rules On 2 Non-Muslim Members Among 14 Waqf Changes
These included nominating non-Muslim and (at least two) women members to each Waqf board, as well as a Union Minister, three MPs and persons of ‘national repute’.
With input from agencies
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