JD(U) National Working President and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay K. Jha said the Bill should not be implemented with retrospective effect | Photo Credit: SansadTV via ANI
A day before the Waqf (Amendment) Bill is set to be tabled in Lok Sabha, key National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies expressed support for the legislation, though the Janata Dal (United) urged the government to not implement the Bill with retrospective effect and the Telugu Desam Party while backing the Bill chose not to speak on the finer details till it is placed in the House.
According to sources, the Bharatiya Janata Party has reached out to the allies, briefing them on the recommendations of the Parliament’s Joint Committee that have been incorporated in the amended Bill.
JD(U) National Working President and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay K. Jha said the Bill should not be implemented with retrospective effect. He also chose to add a caveat saying that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the JD(U) party have been committed to the welfare of minorities.
“Nitish Kumar has been working in Bihar for the last 19 years. During this time, the work he has done for the Muslim community is also visible. Our party had said that it should not be implemented with retrospective effect, and we hope that the government will consider it… As long as Nitish Kumar is in politics, the interests of the people will be protected.” At the same time, underplaying the controversy surrounding the Bill, Mr. Jha also stated that the Waqf Bill was not coming for the first time, and had come out as an amended Bill in 2013. JD(U) has 12 members in the current Lok Sabha.
LJP (Ram Vilas), which has only five members in Lok Sabha, took a more supportive stance regarding the Bill as it chose to attack the Opposition’s “misleading” narrative. Lok Sabha MP Arun Bharti, who was part of the Parliament’s Joint Committee on the Bill, said: “We condemn the way the Opposition is continuously trying to mislead people in the name of religion to save its vote bank politics,” he said, while accusing the Opposition of focusing only on one aspect of the Bill ignoring the administrative, social and economic side.
The TDP with 16 MPs will also vote in favour of the Bill. A senior party leader said that being in government, they can not take contradictory stances on the legislation. TDP spokesperson Prem Kumar Jain said: “The whole Muslim community is waiting for the Waqf (Amendment) Bill to be tabled… Our party will support it. [TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh CM] Chandrababu Naidu has already mentioned that we will work in the interests of the Muslim community. Tomorrow, the Bill will be tabled, only then we will make any comments on it. I assure you that Chandrababu Naidu is in favour of Muslims.”
Published – April 01, 2025 11:54 pm IST