Waqf Bill: TDP says it wants all stakeholders to offer views; BJD says ‘no more support’

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday (August 8) found only lukewarm support from its major NDA partners, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), for the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, finally forcing it to refer it to a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) for further scrutiny.

While these National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies categorically demanded greater consultation on the Bill and a discussion by all stakeholders before the Bill is taken up for consideration in the Lok Sabha, only Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) stated that the Bill had its support.

“We wanted the Waqf (Amendment) Bill to face greater consultation so that all stakeholders can offer their views on the issue. This is the stand taken by the party and we would not like to comment any further on the issue. We want a parliamentary committee to study the Bill,” Pattabhi Ram Kommareddy, national spokesperson of TDP, told The Federal.

JD(U) surprise

The JD(U), however, sprang a surprise by supporting the Bill on the floor of the House soon after it was presented in Lok Sabha. Nitish Kumar’s party was not expected to do so in view of its minority vote bank.

However, senior JD(U) leaders said they were in favour of the Bill to be sent to a parliamentary committee and had conveyed their view to the Union government. They said sending the Bill to the JPC will give an opportunity to all political parties to convey their views on the Bill and also make changes in it.

“We are a member of the Union government, and we cannot interfere too much into its functioning. We have conveyed to the BJP that the Bill should be sent to a parliamentary committee. The JD(U) was the first to propose it and the government agreed. It is because of the efforts of the JD(U) that government and the Opposition agreed on the demand for a JPC,” a senior JD(U) leader claimed.

No more support for BJP: BJD

Had the Bill been placed in the Rajya Sabha, the NDA government would also have failed to get the support of regional parties such as the YSRCP and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which together have at least 19 MPs in the Upper House. The two regional parties, which have helped the BJP pass many bills in the past, are clearly with the Opposition this time.

“We are opposed to the Bill and there are no two ways about it. We have a very clear stand that we have to oppose the BJP. Although The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 has not come up for discussion in Rajya Sabha, we will oppose it whenever it does. We have supported the BJP on many issues for a long time but there will be no more support for the BJP,” Muzibulla Khan, senior leader of the BJD and Rajya Sabha MP, told The Federal.

The BJD was ousted from power from the state earlier this year by the saffron party.

BJP softens tone

Senior BJP leaders tried to play it down, saying all Opposition parties will now get an opportunity to raise their concerns and make changes in the Bill now that it is before the JPC.

BJP leaders believe that it will take at least a couple of months for the JPC to study the Bill and recommend changes and only then will it be taken up for discussion in the Lok Sabha.

“Once the committee suggests its recommendations, it will first go to Lok Sabha for passage and only then will it come up in Rajya Sabha. Since all political parties will get an opportunity to recommend changes in the Bill, we are hopeful that the Bill will be passed after the recommendations from JPC,” a senior BJP MP told The Federal.