Bhubaneswar: April 04: Sonia Gandhi has been asked to apologise by the BJP for her comments about the Waqf Bill. Mrs. Gandhi accused the BJP of trying to maintain “permanent polarisation” in society and called the Waqf Bill a “brazen assault” on the Constitution.
After Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha passed the Waqf amendment bill, There are strong reactions from Congress and other political parties.
Speaking at a Congress Parliamentary Party gathering in Samvidhan Sadan, Mrs. Gandhi asserted that the lower house had “bulldozed” the bill. She also warned that the Congress will vehemently fight the planned One Nation, One Election Bill, which she described as a violation of the Constitution.
“Whether it is education, civil rights and liberties, our federal structure, or the conduct of elections, the Modi government is dragging the country into an abyss where our Constitution will remain on paper,” she stated. She further charged that the government was trying to make India a “surveillance state.”
Speaking on how Parliament operates, she charged the treasury benches of regularly interrupting sessions to stop the Congress from raising issues. She asked Congress MPs to forcefully refute the BJP’s “falsehoods” regarding Congress-ruled states and to underline shortcomings in BJP-ruled states with comprehensive study.
The Rajya Sabha’s discussion was fervent. While the administration justified the Bill as a “historic reform” meant to help the minority population, opposition parties called it “anti-Muslim” and “unconstitutional.” With 128 votes in favour and 95 against, the Rajya Sabha approved the Bill.
After Mrs. Gandhi’s comments, BJP MPs under Nishikant Dubey sought an apology, contending that her comments were an assault on the Indian Constitution and that she had charged the BJP of “taking the country down the drain.”
Consequently, BJP members protesting in Lok Sabha sessions on Friday morning called “Sonia Gandhi maafi maango” , causing the sessions to be suspended.
Congress has announced its plans to challenge the Waqf Bill in the Supreme Court. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh posted on X that the party would “very soon” contest the Bill’s constitutionality, adding, “We are confident and will continue to resist all assaults of the Modi government on the principles, provisions, and practices that are contained in the Constitution of India.”
