‘17 hours, zero disruptions’: Rijiju hails record Rajya Sabha debate on Waqf Bill, rebuts Sonia’s ‘bulldozed’ claim

NEW DELHI: Union minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Friday said the Rajya Sabha set a new benchmark by holding a 17-hour and 2-minute-long debate on the Waqf Amendment Bill, calling it a “new record” in parliamentary proceedings and a testament to democratic discussion without disruption.
“One important milestone that we have achieved in Rajya Sabha... Yesterday, in the Rajya Sabha, we created a new record. The earlier record was in 1981 when the Parliament discussed the Essential Service Maintenance Act... We created a new record — we discussed for 17 hours and 2 minutes in Rajya Sabha (over the Waqf Amendment Bill). It seems extremely difficult to break this record... There was not a single disruption during the discussion over the Waqf Amendment Bill,” Rijiju said at a press conference.
His remarks come after Congress leader Sonia Gandhi criticized the passage of the bill, claiming it was pushed through forcefully and in violation of due procedure.
“Sonia Gandhi is a senior leader; I don't want to comment on her. Yesterday, during the parliamentary party meeting of Congress, a statement was released that the Bill (the Waqf Amendment Act) was passed forcefully and bulldozed the procedures. I just clarified and stated the amount of effort that has been put into that. We created a record of the discussion. There has never been this much discussion in the parliamentary history,” Rijiju said, defending the process.

The bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha early Friday morning after a marathon debate that stretched beyond midnight. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar announced the result: “Ayes 128 and Noes 95, Absent zero. The Bill is passed.”
The Lok Sabha had cleared the bill late Wednesday after a similarly extended session. The government had incorporated several recommendations from a Joint Parliamentary Committee before reintroducing the bill, which seeks to amend the Waqf Act of 1995.
The amendment aims to improve the management and transparency of waqf properties, streamline the registration process, and enhance the role of technology in waqf record-keeping.