NEW DELHI: The four-day last leg of Parliament Budget Session 2025 kicked off on an acrimonious note today with Opposition MPs forcing an adjournment in the Lok Sabha amid protests led by Samajwadi Party members over the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.
The MPs from the Samajwadi Party displayed placards and continued to disrupt proceedings around noon, calling the Bill unfair and unconstitutional.
As members did not pay heed to Speaker Om Birla’s directive not to shout slogans in the House, the proceedings were adjourned till 2 p.m.
The confrontation in Lok Sabha appeared linked to speculation that the government may try to table the Bill, which the Opposition parties are opposing.
After the adjournment, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Chief Asaduddin Owaisi slammed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and speaking to the media said, “All these actions have one objective, which is hatred against Muslims, and this is a project under the ideology of Hindutva in this country to distance Muslims from their religion and take away their religious properties.”
“Our demand is simple: what is right for Hindu religion and the Endowment Board should not be wrong here…,” he said.
Talking about the Bill, NCP MP Fauzia Khan told the media, “The government will present it, but we will oppose it. Our party will oppose it, and the entire Muslim community is opposing it…”
BJD MP Sasmit Patra said, “The stand of Biju Janata Dal is very clear. We are opposing this Bill. We have had several reservations about this Bill earlier, and we feel that the way this bill is being bulldozed is not appropriate…”
JP govt renames 17 Muslim locations in Uttarakhand
As part of its ongoing efforts to erase Muslim identity across India, the BJP-led government has renamed 17 locations, all of which had names with Muslim connotations, in Uttarakhand state.
The locations that have undergone name changes include ten in Haridwar district, four in Dehradun, two in Nainital, and one in Udham Singh Nagar.
Aurangzebpur in Haridwar has been renamed Shivaji Nagar, Ghaziwali as Arya Nagar, Khanpur as Shri Krishnapur, and Khanpur Kursali as Ambedkar Nagar.
Likewise, Miyawala in Dehradun will now be called Ramjiwala, Chandpur Khurd as Prithviraj Nagar, Nawabi Road in Nainital has been renamed Atal Road, and Panchukki Marg has been renamed Guru Golwalkar Marg after the second RSS chief.
The ongoing renaming spree has raised concerns among human rights organizations and opposition leaders, who state that such moves only deepen the existing fault lines between communities, especially at a time when the country is grappling with growing religious tensions. Critics warn that renaming places to erase Muslim heritage is part of a larger strategy to rewrite history and create a more divisive political atmosphere.
