Waqf showdown: BJP MP Nishikant Dubey demands apology from Sonia Gandhi

Sonia Gandhi's remarks did not sit well with the BJP and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who also chided her

Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey on Friday demanded an apology from Congress veteran Sonia Gandhi over her remarks on the recently cleared ‘Waqf Bill’.

 

At a Congress Parliamentary Party meeting, Gandhi stated that the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2025, was “bulldozed” through the Lower House. Reiterating her party’s stance, she said that their stand is clear. She even called it a brazen assault on the Constitution itself.

 

Following her remarks, BJP MP Dubey demanded an apology, arguing that she accused the BJP of “taking the country down the drain,” according to a NDTV report.

 

Her remarks did not sit well with the BJP and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who also chided her. Birla said, “A senior member like her casting aspersions on the House proceedings was most unfortunate.”

 

 

Opposition reacts to Waqf Bill

Earlier today, Congress’ Jairam Ramesh took to social media platform X to inform that the party will soon move the Supreme Court to challenge the constitutionality of the Waqf Amendment Bill. Earlier, on April 3, when the Bill was slated to be tabled in Rajya Sabha, DMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin also announced a similar decision.

 

Congress MP and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi criticised the Waqf Amendment Bill, calling it a “weapon” intended to marginalise the Muslim community.

 

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi went a step ahead and tore a copy of the Bill in parliament in a symbolic protest. An action that drew widespread criticism from the BJP leaders.

Waqf Amendment Bill 2025

The Waqf Amendment Bill was tabled in the Lok Sabha on April 2, by Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju and was cleared by a majority of 288 early on Thursday. The Bill was then tabled in Rajya Sabha and following a long debate, it was cleared in the Upper House with a majority of 128 votes.

 

The Waqf Bill refers to an endowment made by a Muslim for charitable or religious purposes, such as building mosques, schools, hospitals, or other public institutions.