Rajya Sabha spent 17 hours for marathon to meet on the same day. 'Rare opportunity', says chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar | Mint

In the rare 17-hour session, the Rajya Sabha debated and passed the WAQF (amendments) bill amid a background of political quarrels. The marathon session culminated in a vote that a narrow margin saw and highlighted the tension between the ruling party and the opposition regarding minority rights. Jagdeep Dhankhar, chairman of Rajya Sabha, performs the home proceedings during Parliament’s budget session, on Thursday in New Delhi. (Ani Photo/Sansad TV) (Sansad TV) The Rajya Sabha was adjourned at 04:00 on Friday after a 17-hour session. It will meet again later that day at 11 o’clock on April 4. Before adjoining the proceedings, chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said it was a ‘rare opportunity’ that the house at 4am. Meeting again on the same day at 11 o’clock. The house met at 11 o’clock on Thursday (April 3) and recorded the scheduled zero hour and demand. At 1pm on Thursday, it took up the WAQF (amendment) Bill, 2025. It was adopted at about 2:30 pm on Friday. The ruling NDA members defended the legislation as beneficial to minorities, while the opposition described it as “unconstitutional” during the debate. All government bodies must be secular: Rijiju eventually voted 128 members in favor of the bill, and 95 it is. Minister of Minority Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, said in Rajya Sabha that the bill was made with a number of amendments based on proposals given by various stakeholders. “The WAQF board is a statutory body. All government bodies must be secular,” the minister said, explaining the inclusion of non-Muslims on the board. The proposed legislation now applies to approval by the president before it becomes a law that replaces the WAQF Act of 1995 regarding WAQF properties in India. Resolution on the reign of Manipur President The home then accepted a statutory resolution transferred by the Minister of Home Affairs AMIT Shah on the imposition of President’s reign in Manipur. A day before, the Lok Sabha sat 15.41 hours for a marathon to clean up the controversial WAQF bill and adopt a statutory resolution on the president’s reign in Manipur. It has been one of the longest sessions of the lower house since the first session in 1952. The WAQF Bill tried to amend the existing WAQF laws with a voting of 288-232 to a 12-hour debate. The voting process for the bill lasted 1:49 hours. Manipur debate lasted about 41 minutes. (With PTI inputs) This is a rare opportunity that the house spread at 4am to meet again at 11 o’clock. While the WAQF Bill lasted nearly 14 hours, the Mussalman Wakf (Recall) Bill was approved in Lok Sabha within minutes. The debate and vote on the WAQF (amendment) bill, which started a little after noon on Wednesday, ended at 1:56 p.m. (With Pti inputs) first published: 4 Apr 2025, 05:34 am Ist