Waqf Bill debate: Shinde Sena says 'Uddhav's stand would've pained Balasaheb'

NEW DELHI: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP on Wednesday accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of bringing the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, with an eye on the upcoming assembly elections in Bihar, while Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, a BJP ally, said Balsaheb Thackeray, who founded the original Shiv Sena, would have been "pained" to see the stand of Sena (UBT) on the issue.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance is the governing coalition of Bihar.
"I heard speeches of my old friends. They can only see Bihar elections now," Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant said, participating in the marathon eight-hour debate on the Waqf Bill in the Lok Sabha.
Shiv Sena (UBT) is a former ally of the BJP. In November 2019, the-then united Shiv Sena parted ways with the BJP and joined hands with the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party. However, in June 2022, the party split into factions led by Eknath Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray, Balasaheb's son.

The Election Commission recognises Shinde's group as the "real" Shiv Sena, while the Uddhav side is called Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).
Meanwhile, Sawant, who was a member of the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on Waqf Bill, headed by BJP's Jagdambika Pal, said the panel never held clause-by-clause discussions.
"Unfortunately, clause-by-clause discussions were not held in the JPC. Non-stakeholders were also called. We have always felt there is a great difference between your (BJP's) words and actions. You do not want to do justice to anyone with this bill," he stated.

Responding to a social media post from Maharashtra chief minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, in which he challenged Uddhav Thackeray to support the bill, Sawant remarked, "Will you (Fadnavis) lecture us on Hindutva?"
Also Read | Fadnavis puts up 'let's see tomorrow' challenge for Uddhav over Waqf Amendment Bill: 'Balasaheb or Rahul Gandhi?'
The Congress-led opposition INDIA bloc, of which Sena (UBT) is a constituent, is opposing the Waqf Bill.
'UBT missed golden opportunity to rectify their mistakes': Shiv Sena
On the other hand, Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde, son of Maharashtra deputy CM Eknath Shinde, expressed his party's "complete support" for the Waqf Bill.
Uddhav Thackeray's stand would have been "painful" for Balasaheb Thackeray, he added.

"I was pained upon hearing Sawant's speech. It was very shocking. I would like to ask if their (Sena UBT's) position would have been the same had Balasaheb been alive. It is clear today whose ideology they have adopted today and why they are opposing this bill. They had a golden opportunity to rectify their mistakes, rewrite their history and keep their ideology alive. But they have already bulldozed their ideology. If Balasaheb was there, he would have been pained," Shrikant Shinde stated.