Waqf showdown: INDIA bloc meets to formulate joint strategy to oppose Bill in Parliament

The Opposition INDIA bloc on Tuesday presented a united face as they discussed their joint strategy to oppose the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in Parliament which will be taken up for discussion and passage in the Lok Sabha first.

The opposition parties held a meeting in the Parliament House to discuss and formulate their strategy as a showdown over the contentious bill is imminent.

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.

"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 Govt on the Waqf Amendment Bill," Kharge said in a post on X.

In a post on Facebook, Gandhi said a meeting of opposition leaders from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha was held in Parliament.

"During the meeting, we held a detailed discussion on the Waqf bill that will come up in Parliament tomorrow," he said.

Congress leader Venugopal said the Bill must be opposed 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.

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

The senior Congress leader said the concerns of the Christian community regarding its churches have to be addressed and asserted, "We want the Munambam Waqf land dispute issue to be resolved."

The dispute over around 400 acres of land in the Ernakulam district of Kerala between the state's waqf board and land occupants has triggered a storm.

Congress MP Pramod Tiwari said, "They (BJP) are trying to oppose every religion which is in the minority. We, the INDIA Bloc, will oppose it tomorrow with all of our strength because it is anti-Constitution."

TMC MP Banerjee said, "We will participate in discussion and voting as well. We want to have a discussion but the BJP doesn’t want to do that. 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."

RJD MP Jha said if BJP-led central government tries to "bulldoze" the opposition, it will be forced to withdraw the Bill.

"We stand in opposition of the Bill because it is unconstitutional. It is synonymous with dog whistle politics. We have said during farmers' protests to the government that you have the majority but don’t bulldoze us.

"They bulldozed us and they had to withdraw the (farm) Bills. The same thing will happen to this bill as well. The BJP wants to give a sense of alienation to the Muslim community in a targeted manner," he said.

NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule in a strong democracy, the country is run by the Constitution.

"We will participate in the discussion tomorrow... Tomorrow, we will participate in the debate together," she said.

DMK MP Kanimozhi said, "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."