BJD to oppose Waqf Bill in Rajya Sabha, says Naveen Patnaik
The Biju Janata Dal announced on Thursday that it will oppose the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which is currently under the scrutiny of a Joint Parliamentary Committee.
Kapil Sibal, senior leader and former minister today filed the nomination for Rajya Sabha as independent with Samajwadi Party’s (SP) support in the presence of party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
Revealing about the same, Sibal said he had resigned from the Congress on May 16 and is independent now.
The veteran leader was a Union Minister in UPA government and off-late was very critical of Rahul Gandhi and the functioning of the party.
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Though neither Akhilesh Yadav nor Kapil Sibal has indicated anything about Sibal’s joining SP but many insiders have predicted Sibal may join SP as he share close ties with Yadav family as a senior advocate.
Sibal said, “I have filed nomination as an independent candidate. I have always wanted to be an independent voice in the country.”
He had argued in January 2017 (during the Yadav family feud) at the Election Commission that Akhilesh Yadav should get the ‘Bicycle’ symbol which eventually the party he got it.
According to the sources, the SP needs Sibal to reach out to Azam Khan who is upset with the party and whose case Sibal is fighting in the courts.
In UP, where the election to 11 seats is due, the BJP can win seven and the Samajwadi Party three seats – and the latter will still have 20 surplus votes, as per the political experts.
However, problem will arise for the 11th seat if the BJP fields its eighth candidate, which will necessitate an election.
The Congress can elect eight Rajya Sabha members from Rajasthan, Karnataka, Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and two more can come with support of allies in Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand.
Anand Sharma, Ghulam Nabi Azad and P. Chidambaram are hopefuls. Sharma is hoping to be elected from Haryana, but sources say Kumari Selja and Randeep Singh Surjewala are contenders too.
Chidambaram may get a renomination from his home state of Tamil Nadu.
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