The Rajya Sabha on Friday passed the 2024 Waqf Amendment Bill, with 128 votes in its favour and 95 against.

The bill, which seeks to curb the authority of waqf boards and allow greater government control over them, was adopted early in the morning after a 14-hour debate, reported The Hindu.

A day earlier, the bill was adopted in the Lok Sabha a little after midnight following a 12-hour debate, with 288 votes in favour and 232 against. The bill now requires the president’s assent.

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance has 293 MPs in the Lok Sabha. After winning 240 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and losing its majority in the Lower House, the BJP has had to rely on its alliance partners Janata Dal (United) and Telugu Desam Party to pass the bill.

In the Rajya Sabha, the NDA has 117 members out of the total strength of 236. The current majority mark in the Upper House stands at 119. The strength of the ruling coalition stands at 125 with the support of two nominated members and six Independents, The Times of India reported.

The Janata Dal (United) supported the bill, claiming that it is not anti-Muslim. The party had earlier said that the bill aimed to ensure transparency in the operation of the waqf boards and was not an attempt to interfere with mosques. However, it urged the Union government not to implement the proposed law with retrospective effect.

On March 23, several Muslim organisations in Bihar boycotted an iftar dinner organised by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at his home in Patna, citing the Janata Dal (United)’s support for the bill.

The Telugu Desam Party has also supported the proposed legislation.

A waqf is a property dedicated to a religious, educational or charitable cause under Islamic law. In India, waqfs are governed under the 1995 Waqf Act. Each state has a waqf board led by a legal entity that is vested with the power to acquire, hold and transfer property. The Act was last amended in 2013.

The 2024 bill proposes to amend 44 sections of the Waqf Act. The amendments propose to allow waqf boards to be controlled by the government to a greater degree, allow non-Muslims to be members of the boards, restrict the donation of properties and change how waqf tribunals function.

Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain said in the Rajya Sabha that the bill was a “targeted legislation against the Muslim community” and that it intended to make Muslims “second-class citizens” of the country, The Hindu reported.

The BJP introduced the bill in 2024 to strengthen its vote bank, as this was the only way for it to be able to win 240 seats in the Lok Sabha elections, he added.

“They have brought this Act just for communal polarisation,” Hussain said. “Everybody knows who benefits when communal polarisation takes place.”

In response, Union Health Minister JP Nadda said that the Union government believed in “real service and not lip service”, The Hindu reported. He also accused the Congress of reducing Muslim women to “second-grade citizens” when it was in power at the Centre.

Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj K Jha noted several incidents of the mistreatment of minorities in the country and said that the “content and intent” of the bill were questionable, according to The Hindu.

Jha said that the bill’s provision allowing non-Muslims to be members of waqf boards was being presented as a secular move, but said that similar provisions were not available in the endowment boards of other religions.

“The waqf boards are statutory bodies and not religious bodies like the Hindu endowment boards,” The Hindu quoted Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju as saying in response. “A statutory body should be secular.”

Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi said that the United States imposed reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries, including a 26% “discounted” levy on India, when the Lok Sabha was busy passing the Waqf Amendment Bill late on Wednesday. The Union government will have to decide on its priorities, he added.

In his concluding remarks, Rijiju claimed that the Union government had heard all opinions, which was reflected in the difference between the original Bill and the one cleared by Parliament, The Hindu reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday morning called the passage of the bill in Parliament a “watershed moment in our collective quest for socio-economic justice, transparency and inclusive growth”.

“For decades, the Waqf system was synonymous with lack of transparency and accountability,” he said on social media. “This especially harmed the interests of Muslim women, poor Muslims, Pasmanda Muslims.”

He said that the legislation passed by Parliament would boost transparency and safeguard rights.

“We will now enter an era where the framework will be more modern and sensitive to social justice,” he said. “On a larger note, we remain committed to prioritising the dignity of every citizen. This is also how we build a stronger, more inclusive and more compassionate India.”