Waqf Bill Clears Lok Sabha Hurdle: NDA’s Rajya Sabha Strength in Focus

Central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi successfully passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 and the Muslim Waqf (Repeal) Bill, 2024 in the Lok Sabha. Today it will be introduced in the Rajya Sabha for passage. In the 543-member Lok Sabha, 288 votes were cast in favor of the bill. At the same time, 233 votes were cast against it. After this, the House approved both the bills.

Waqf Amendment Bill Lok Sabha Win

As far as Rajya Sabha is concerned, there are a total of 236 members here. To pass the bill, the maximum number of votes cast will be required. These days BJP is the biggest party here. It has a total of 98 MPs. As far as NDA is concerned, it has 125 MPs. Apart from BJP, JDU has 4 MPs, Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has 3 MPs and TDP has 2 MPs. Looking at the number game, NDA should not have any difficulty in passing this much-discussed amendment bill in this house as well. This is also because NDA has shown unity in Lok Sabha.

Waqf Amendment Bill passed in  Lok Sabha

Earlier, Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju, while responding to the discussion on the Wakf Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha, rejected the claims of several opposition members that the government's move was anti-Muslim and said that this bill is being described as dividing Muslims, while the government is bringing together all sections of the community including Shia, Sunni through this. He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is also trying to save the smallest minority community in the country, the Parsi.

Rijiju said, "The opposition can criticise the government, but it is not correct to say that minorities are not safe in India." He said, "I myself am a minority and can say that minorities are not safer anywhere than in India. Every minority community lives with dignity in this country."

Waqf Bill Clears Lok Sabha Hurdle

Taking the opposition members to task, he said, "Disgracing the country in this manner in the House...the coming generations will not forgive you." The Union Minister said that after the passage of the bill, crores of Muslims of the country will thank Prime Minister Modi.

After Rijiju's reply, the House passed the Wakf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 by 288 votes to 232, rejecting the amendments of several opposition members. The House also approved the Muslim Wakf (Repeal) Bill, 2024 by voice vote.

BJP's allies in the National Democratic Alliance, JDU, Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Jansena and Janata Dal (Secular) supported the Wakf (Amendment) Bill. BJP's ally in Jharkhand, AJSU also supported the bill.

Congress, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, DMK and other opposition parties strongly opposed the bill, calling it unconstitutional and a move to usurp the land of Muslims.