Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], April 6 (ANI): As the Waqf (Amendment) Bill received President's assent to become an Act, Bharatiya Janata Party MP, and former Chairman of Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to review the bill, Jagdambika Pal, launched a blistering attack on Congress, questioning the non-participation of Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi during the discussions in Parliament.
Accusing the Congress of using muslims as a "vote bank," Pal questioned the Gandhi siblings (Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi) for not contributing to the debates in Parliament.
"If the Congress Party or Rahul Gandhi are really concerned about the Muslims of the country, if they do not consider them a vote bank, then why did Rahul Gandhi not participate in the discussion on such a historic bill in the Lok Sabha? Neither Rahul Gandhi nor Priyanka spoke on this," he told ANI.
While lauding the passage of the "historic" and "major" reform to Waqf Board, the BJP MP said that the bill will benefit the poor, Pasmanda, women and orphans.
"A major reform has been done in Waqf by the Narendra Modi government, which will benefit the poor, Pasmanda, women and orphans," Pal told ANI.
He further questioned whether, if Congress really believes the law is unconstitutional, Rahul Gandhi should have mentioned how each clause in the bill is unconstitutional.
"If it was an unconstitutional law, then Rahul Gandhi should have said in Parliament, clause by clause, that the amendment being made is unconstitutional. He did not give any suggestion on this, did not give any argument, neither Priyanka gave any argument nor Sonia Gandhi gave any argument in the Rajya Sabha," the BJP MP told ANI.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had alleged that the BJP is now targeting Catholic Church land following the passage of the Waqf Act Amendment Bill in Parliament. He stated that the passage of the bill could set a precedent to target other minority communities in the future.
"I had said that the Waqf Bill attacks Muslims now but sets a precedent to target other communities in the future. It didn't take long for the RSS to turn its attention to Christians," Gandhi said.
President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which was passed by Parliament during the budget session of Parliament. The President also gave her assent to the Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill, 2025. The Law Ministry notifications, issued on Saturday, said that the President had given her assent to the two bills.
Rajya Sabha passed the Bill on Friday with 128 votes in favour and 95 against, while the Loka Sabha cleared the bill after a lengthy debate, with 288 members voting in favour and 232 opposing it. (ANI)