Lok Sabha LIVE | Discussion On Contentious Waqf Amendment Bill Continues In LS: Watch Proceedings Here

Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday tabled the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, as proposed by a Joint Parliamentary Committee, in the Lok Sabha for consideration and passage. The bill seeks to improve the administration of Waqf properties, introduce technology-driven management, address complexities and ensure transparency. The discussion over the bill continues in the Lok Sabha. It is expected that the bill will be passed by the end of the day as the NDA government has the required numbers to get it through, since it has received the support it needed from ally TDP and JD(U).    Introducing the bill, Rijiju said the consultation process of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) was the largest ever exercise carried out by a parliamentary panel in India's democratic history. He said over 97.27 lakh petitions, memorandums were received by the JPC through physical and online formats and the JPC had gone through each of them before finalising its report."The government is not going to interfere in any religious institution. The changes made in the Waqf law by the UPA government gave it overriding effect over other statutes, hence the new amendments were required," Rijiju said amid noisy opposition protest. "You tried to mislead the people on issues which are not part of the Waqf Bill," Rijiju told the opposition.This bill has nothing to do with religion, but deals only with properties, he added. According to the bill, trusts created by Muslims under any law will no longer be considered Waqf, ensuring full control over the trusts.