New Delhi, April 3 :
Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi has strongly criticized the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, calling it a “brazen assault” on the Indian Constitution. She accused the BJP of deliberately pushing divisive policies to keep society in a state of “permanent polarization.”
Her remarks came just hours after the Lok Sabha passed the controversial bill following a lengthy 12-hour debate. Gandhi alleged that the bill was “bulldozed” through Parliament, disregarding concerns raised by the opposition.
Addressing Congress MPs at a party meeting in Samvidhan Sadan, she also took aim at the Modi government’s push for the ‘One Nation, One Election’ initiative, calling it yet another attempt to subvert the Constitution. “Whether it is education, civil rights, federalism, or elections, the Modi government is dragging India towards a scenario where the Constitution will exist only on paper,” she warned.
Gandhi urged party members to expose what she called the ruling government’s failures and its attempts to turn India into a “surveillance state.” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, and several other senior leaders attended the meeting.
She further accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of rebranding and marketing welfare initiatives launched by the UPA government (2004-2014) as his own achievements. She urged Congress workers to highlight this through grassroots-level public outreach.
Expressing concerns over the conduct of Parliament, Gandhi claimed that opposition leaders are being denied the opportunity to speak, while BJP members frequently disrupt proceedings to suppress Congress’s voice. She alleged that BJP leaders aggressively target Congress-ruled states with “false narratives” while ignoring failures in their own governance.
“The BJP is determined to silence us, but we must be equally aggressive in exposing their failures. This requires detailed research and preparation on our part,” she told party MPs.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill was passed after all amendments proposed by opposition members were rejected through voice votes. The final count saw 288 votes in favor and 232 against. The bill is now set to be taken up in the Rajya Sabha for further deliberation.