All parties in South India except the BJP, its NDA allies and the Tamil Manila Congress (TMC) in Tamil Nadu, voted against the bill in the Rajya Sabha.
Published Apr 04, 2025 | 2:43 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 04, 2025 | 2:43 PM
The new Parliament building. (Creative Commons)
Synopsis: According to available information, 45 Rajyas Sabha members out of the total 56 from the five South Indian states, voted against the bill while only 11 voted in favour.
The Rajya Sabha approved the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 in the early hours of Friday, 4 April, following a 12 hour debate. While 128 votes were cast in favour of the bill, 95 were against it.
The bill now awaits the assent of President Droupadi Murmu for it to become legislation. The Lok Sabha passed the bill with a majority of 288 votes in favour and 232 against.
According to available information, 45 Rajyas Sabha members out of the total 56 from the five South Indian states, voted against the bill while only 11 voted in favour.
All parties in South India except the BJP, its NDA allies and the Tamil Manila Congress (TMC) in Tamil Nadu, voted against the bill in the Rajya Sabha.
In Andhra Pradesh, the ruling NDA has three Rajya Sabha members, two from TDP and one from BJP who voted in favour of the bill. YSRCP Parliamentary Party leader YV Subba Reddy clarified that the party asked all seven of its Rajya Sabha members to vote against the bill.
The TDP had said that even though it supported the bill it would ask the Union government to change some of its provisions. However, it is not clear whether the suggestions have been included in the bill.
In Karnataka, six MPs of the BJP voted in favour of the bill. BJP ally JD(S) also supported the bill and its Rajya Sabha member HD Deve Gowda voted in favour of the bill. Five Congress MPs voted against the bill.
In Kerala, the ruling LDF led by the CPI(M) and the Opposition UDF led by Congress raised voices against the bill.
The votes from Kerala included those of two Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) MPs, three CPI(M) MPs, two CPI MPs and one MP each from the Congress and the Kerala Congress (Mani).
In Tamil Nadu both the ruling DMK (10) and Opposition AIADMK (4) voted against the bill, along with the MPs of Congress (1), Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) (1) and Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) (1). The lone vote against the bill from Tamil Nadu was the TMC.
In Telangana, both the ruling Congress (3) and the Opposition BRS (4) took a stand against the bill, which essentially means seven votes against it.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
