Parl face-off likely as LS takes up Waqf bill

THE LS WILL ALSO DISCUSS RETENTION OF THE CRUCIAL WAQF-BY-USER CLAUSE, ONE OF THE SUGGESTIONS MADE BY THE JOINT COMMITTEE

- Smriti Kak Ramachandran and Saubhadra Chatterji

The Lok Sabha will take up the contentious Waqf amendment bill for discussion and passage on Wednesday, setting the stage for confrontation in Parliament on what is among the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government's flagship initiatives in its third term.

The Lower House will discuss for eight hours a new draft of the bill that accepted all 25 recommendations made by a joint parliamentary committee, including retaining the crucial waqf-by-user clause and implementing the draft legislation only prospectively. The bill will be also discussed in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

The bill will test the cohesiveness of the NDA as the BJP needs the support of key allies in both Houses. On Tuesday, the party appeared confident as allies such as the Janata Dal (United), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), and Telugu Desam Party signaled their support, issuing whips to their lawmakers.

But early signs of confrontation were visible in the Lok Sabha's business advisory committee (BAC) meeting on Tuesday after the Opposition walked out over the time allocated for discussion. Some parties, including the Congress and the Samajwadi Party issued a threeline whip to its MPs and Trinamool Congress lawmakers threatened that it won't be easy for the government to pass the bill in both Houses. Union minister for parliamentary affairs Kiren Rijiju said the walkout was an excuse to avoid discussion on the bill.

"We want a discussion on the waqf bill, but the Opposition is only resorting to fear mongering and trying to obstruct the legislation. The walkout by the Opposition today was an excuse to avoid discussion," the minister said.