Opposition Unites To ‘Defeat’ Centre’s ‘Divisive Agenda’ As Waqf Bill To Be Tabled Today

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill is all set to be presented in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, setting the stage for a showdown between the Prime Minister Modi-led government and the Opposition’s INDIA bloc. All Opposition parties have united against the Waqf Bill with Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge claiming that the government’s agenda behind the bill is “divisive” and that they will work together on the floor of Parliament to “defeat” it.

He said this on Tuesday after a meeting of parties, including the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and CPI (M) on the issue. “All the Opposition parties are united and shall work together on the floor of the Parliament, to defeat the unconstitutional and divisive agenda of the Modi government on the Waqf Amendment Bill,” Kharge stated in a post on X.

Floor leaders of the INDIA Alliance held a meeting today in the Parliament which was attended by Congress President and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Shri @kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Shri @RahulGandhi.

During this meeting, the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, was… pic.twitter.com/eFi4yB9n8e

— Congress (@INCIndia) April 1, 2025

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What Opposition Leaders Said

Leaders of the opposition parties met on Tuesday to discuss and formulate their strategy. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and KC Venugopal, Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav, NCP leader Supriya Sule, TMC’s Kalyan Banerjee, and AAP’s Sanjay Singh attended the meeting.

DMK’s T R Baalu, Tiruchi Siva and Kanimozhi, RJD’s Manoj Kumar Jha, CPI-M’s John Brittas, CPI’s Sandosh Kumar P, RSP’s N K Premchandran and Vaiko were also present in the meeting.

Rahul Gandhi said in a post on Facebook that a detailed discussion was held on the contentious Waqf Bill that will be taken up for discussion and passage in the Lok Sabha first, followed by the Rajya Sabha a day later.

Congress leader Venugopal said the Waqf Bill must be opposed in order to protect the Constitutional values of the country. 

“This Bill is actually a targeted legislation. It is also unconstitutional. We, the INDIA parties, who believe in the Constitution are going to vote against the Bill,” said Venugopal, news agency PTI reported.

“This is a clear-cut violation of the Constitution. People who believe in the Constitution will definitely oppose it,” he added.

Congress MP Pramod Tiwari alleged that the BJP was trying to “oppose every minority religion”, and that the INDIA Bloc will oppose the bill as it is “anti-Constitution”.

Meanwhile, TMC MP Banerjee said that the opposition leaders will participate in discussion and voting as well, but claimed that the BJP does not want to have a discussion on the Waqf Bill.” We want to discuss the matter on the floor of Parliament. We want to participate in the voting but the BJP will not allow us to discuss,” he said.

DMK MP Kanimozhi vowed to protect the minority community of the country and stressed that the opposition would stand united against the Waqf Bill.

“INDIA alliance stands as one and we will be expressing our opinion as one. We will come together and oppose this Bill as we believe in secularism and the protection of the minority and majority of the country. We will stand together to protect the Constitution,” he said.

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