Waqf Bill row: Sonia Gandhi’s criticism sparks outrage, BJP demands apology

New Delhi: After Congress leader Sonia Gandhi made critical remarks about the Waqf Bill, BJP members demanded an apology from her in Parliament. As soon as the house convened for the day, they shouted slogans such as “Sonia Gandhi, maafi maango” (Sonia Gandhi, apologise). In response, opposition leaders raised slogans questioning the government over the U.S. imposing tariffs on India. Speaker Om Birla then adjourned the house until noon due to the chaos that ensued.

Mrs Gandhi, while speaking at a Congress Parliamentary Party meeting in Samvidhan Sadan, stated that the Bill was “bulldozed” through the lower house. She called the Bill a “Brazen assault” on the Constitution and alleged the BJP of keeping the society in a state of “Permanent polarisation”. She also took a dig at the ‘One Nation, One Election Bill’, proposed by the BJP stating it as a subversion of the Constitution and that the Congress would oppose it strongly.

“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,” Sonia Gandhi said. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge were present at the meeting.

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She also accused the treasury benches of disrupting the proceedings to stop Congress from raising issues. She asked the Congress MPs to strongly combat the ‘falsehoods’ spread by BJP about Congress-ruled states. She also urged them to highlight the failures of BJP-ruled states through proper research.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill was passed in Lok Sabha on Thursday after a 12-hour-long discussion. In the final tally, 288 members voted in favour of the Bill while 232 members voted against it. The Bill was then tabled in Rajya Sabha where it received 128 votes in favour and 95 against it.

BJP MPs led by Nishikant Dubey demanded an apology stating that Mrs Gandhi has accused the BJP of “taking the country down the drain”. The Congress has also expressed its plans of challenging the Waqf Bill in the Supreme Court.