BJP demands apology from Sonia Gandhi over Waqf Bill remarks

The BJP has demanded an apology from Congress leader Sonia Gandhi for her sharp criticism of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which she described as a “brazen assault” on the Constitution.

BJP MPs, led by Nishikant Dubey, accused her of attacking the constitutional spirit and “taking the country down the drain.” On Friday morning, Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned amid loud protests from BJP members, who chanted “Sonia Gandhi maafi maango” (Sonia Gandhi, apologise).

Opposition MPs, meanwhile, demanded government responses on US-imposed tariffs.

Mrs Gandhi’s remarks were made during a Congress Parliamentary Party meeting in Samvidhan Sadan, where she alleged that the Waqf Bill had been “bulldozed” through the Lok Sabha without proper debate. She accused the Modi government of trying to keep the country in a state of “permanent polarisation” and warned that the Constitution was being reduced to “just a piece of paper.”

The Lok Sabha had passed the Bill late on Thursday following a 12-hour debate. Opposition-proposed amendments were rejected by voice vote, and the final count stood at 288 in favor and 232 against.

The Bill is now headed to the Rajya Sabha, where it sparked a heated debate. While the Opposition called it “anti-Muslim” and “unconstitutional,” the government described it as a “historic reform” for minority welfare. The Rajya Sabha cleared the Bill with 128 votes in favor and 95 against.

Mrs Gandhi also voiced strong opposition to the proposed One Nation, One Election Bill, calling it a “subversion of the Constitution.” She urged Congress MPs to expose the BJP’s “falsehoods” and highlight governance failures in BJP-ruled states through detailed research.

Among those present at the meeting were Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. Mrs Gandhi also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of rebranding Congress-era schemes from 2004–2014 as his own and called for a nationwide public outreach campaign to counter what she called a “misleading narrative.”

She further alleged that the government was pushing India toward becoming a “surveillance state,” and criticised frequent disruptions by treasury benches in Parliament, saying they were meant to stifle the Opposition’s voice on key issues like education, civil liberties, and federalism.