The Opposition INDIA bloc has decided to oppose the Waqf Amendment Bill set to be tabled by the BJP-led government in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the floor leaders of INDIA bloc parties, in the presence of Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, on the Parliament premises, convened to discuss the strategy on the Waqf Amendment Bill.
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Congress General Secretary in-charge of Organisation KC Venugopal, who attended the meeting, categorically said that the INDIA alliance has unanimously decided to oppose this Bill. “At the introduction stage itself, the INDIA alliance and all like-minded parties had a clear-cut stand on it. This Bill is a targeted legislation and is fundamentally against the Constitutional provisions. We are going to oppose this Bill. This is what has been decided unanimously by the INDIA alliance parties,” he told a news agency.
The Congress MP also urged other like-minded parties to vote against this Bill.
Echoing similar sentiments, Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Ram Gopal Yadav said, “We will stand united tomorrow.”
Accusing the BJP of playing divisive politics, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Kanimozhi said, “We know who they are against. We are opposing the amendment bill.”
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Gandhi, in a social media post, wrote, “Today, in the meeting we discussed in detail the Waqf Bill to be presented in Parliament on Wednesday.”
Earlier in the day, Congress had issued a three-line whip asking its members in Lok Sabha to be present in the House on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
