Waqf Amendment Bill : Live Updates From Lok Sabha

After a marathon discussion of over 12 hours, Lok Sabha passes the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025.

288 votes in favour and 232 votes against the bill.

Voting underway on the bill

Owaisi ends his speech by tearing the draft Bill.

Owaisi asks Rijiju as to who would fall within the definition of 'practising' Muslims; whether keeping a beard would be one of the criteria or the criteria would be a person who has been mob-lynched because he did not say 'jai shree ram'.

Owaisi counters Amit Shah's remarks that the Bill is for Dawodi Bohra and other marginalised communities within the Muslim community and questions why the said provision has no mention of the Dawodi Bohra community.

"Sir, this Bill takes any management from the hands of Muslims, disempowers the waqf in comparison to any other stakeholders, takes away the administration and hampers development...the progress of the development from pre-independence till today is sought to be destroyed," Owaisi says

Owaisi says Modi Gov introduced The Waqf Properties (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants), Bill, 2014 because they believed there were encroachments but why did they withdrew it in 2024?

Asaduddin Owaisi says as compared to Muslims, other religious endowments continue to have a similar concept of 'waqf by user' and there is no application of Limitation Act.

Abhijit Gangopadhyay, BJP says when the Bill was introduced, some "obnoxious" campaign was going out across the country, and he questions if the Opposition can name one provision which says that the Bill will take away the properties of Muslims

Zia Ur Rehman of SP  questions if the Gov is so much interested in the welfare of Muslims, why don't they have one single Muslim legislator out of 240