2 days ago
Last Updated:April 04, 2025, 14:50 IST
The BJP demanded an apology from Sonia Gandhi over her remarks calling the Waqf Amendment Bill a "brazen assault on the Constitution." Her comments sparked uproar in the Lok Sabha.
Uproar in Lok Sabha over Sonia Gandhi's remark on Waqf Bill (Photos: Social Media/PTI)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday demanded Sonia Gandhi’s apology over her ‘brazen assault’ remarks on the Waqf Amendment Bill, which was passed in both Houses of the Parliament today.
On Thursday, speaking at the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) general body meeting, Gandhi launched a blistering attack on the BJP-led Union government, and said, “Yesterday, the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024, was passed in the Lok Sabha, and today, it is scheduled to come up in the Rajya Sabha."
“The Bill was, in effect, bulldozed through. Our party’s position is clear. The Bill is a brazen assault on the Constitution itself. It is very much part of the BJP’s deliberate strategy to keep our society in a state of permanent polarisation," she had said.
Her remarks led to an uproar in the Lok Sabha on Friday, with the BJP members raising ‘Sonia Gandhi maafi maango’ (Sonia Gandhi, apologise) slogans.
The House was adjourned sine die soon after.
During her address, Gandhi had also claimed that the Opposition leaders in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were not being allowed to express their views.
“It is a matter of grave concern to our democracy that the LOP in the Lok Sabha is not permitted to speak. Similarly, time and again, the LOP in the Rajya Sabha, Khargeji, is also not allowed to say what he wants to say and indeed must say," she said.
“Like you, I have been witness to how the House gets adjourned not because of us but because of the protests by the Treasury Benches themselves. This is quite extraordinary and shocking, designed to prevent the Opposition from raising their concerns that would put the Government on the spot," she added.
Earlier today, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh announced that the party was soon going to challenge the constitutionality of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in the Supreme Court.
In an X post, Ramesh termed the passage of the Bill an “assault of the Narendra Modi government on the Indian Constitution".
The Waqf Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha with 128 members voting in favour and 95 opposing it. It was passed in the Lok Sabha early Friday, with 288 members supporting it and 232 against it.
Parliament also approved the Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill, 2025, with the Rajya Sabha giving its nod. The Lok Sabha had already given its assent to the Bill.
Location : First Published:April 04, 2025, 12:21 IST
News india 'Sonia Gandhi Maafi Maango': BJP Protests In Lok Sabha Over Congress Leader's Remark On Waqf Bill
