NDA's new 'secular' entrants, NCP and JDS, support waqf bill

NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha witnessed an intense debate on the waqf bill, with leaders from BJP's "secular" allies, NCP and JDS, both new entrants to NDA, supporting the legislation

NCP's Praful Patel was aggressive, in particular as he took on Congress and its allies over their claim that they were opposesd to the bill because it was not "secular". He reminded Congress of Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray's proud "we -did- it" boast after the demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on Dec 6, 1992 and also referred to the allegation about Shiv Sena's involvement in the communal riots in Mumbai in 1993.

"Be aware of whom you have aligned yourself with, their mindset has not changed," said Patel as he attacked the opposition for raking up the "communal-secular" angle during the debate. He also pointed to the difficulties that Shiv Sena is having as it tries to cast itself as a "secular" formation. "Sanjay (Raut) bhai is always aggressive when he speaks. But today he did not know what to say?"

Earlier, Patel had ticked off Sena's Priyanka Chaturvedi when she objected to his critical comments on Sena. "You don't know because you were then a Congress spokesperson." "She is being more loyal than the king", said Patel before launching into a full-scale defence of PM.

"Modi went to Nagpur and everybody started speaking how he met the RSS chief or visited their headquarters. But during the same visit, PM also visited Deeksha Bhumi to pay tribute to the framer of Constitution and an inspiration for Dalits, Dr B R Ambedkar. This was completely blanked out of the commentary.

JDS founder HD Deve Gowda backed the waqf bill, praising PM Modi for safeguarding waqf properties. He reflected on past failures in addressing minority concerns and questioned why Muslims left Congress. Gowda also stressed his belief in India's secular ethos, stating his religious visits are driven by faith, not politics.