Waqf amendment bill 'brazen assault' on Constitution, BJP's strategy to polarise society: Sonia Gandhi

New Delhi: Describing the Waqf (Amendment) Bill as a "brazen assault" on the Constitution, top Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Thursday said it was "bulldozed" through in Lok Sabha, as it is part of the BJP's strategy to keep society in a state of "permanent polarisation".

Addressing party MPs at a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party in Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan here, Sonia said the One Nation, One Election (ONOE) Bill is another subversion of the Constitution and the party would "strongly oppose" it.

She also accused the government of wilfully ignoring the implementation of women’s reservation bill, which was passed by Parliament, along with the other demand for one-third reservation for women belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBCs.

She highlighted that it is vital to "to fight for what is right and just, to expose Modi government’s failing and intention to turn India into a surveillance state".

"Whether it is education, civil rights and liberties, our federal structure or conduct of elections, the Modi government is dragging the country into an abyss where our Constitution will remain on paper and we know their intention is to demolish even that," she said.

"...the Wakf Amendment Bill, 2024 was passed in the Lok Sabha and today (Thursday) it is scheduled to come up in the Rajya Sabha. The Bill was in effect bulldozed through. Our party's position is clear. The Bill is a brazen assault on the Constitution itself. It is very much part of the BJP's deliberate strategy to keep our society in a state of permanent polarization," Sonia said. The Lok Sabha had passed the Bill early Thursday morning.

Sonia said the Congress has demanded a debate on a number of issues of public importance, including free and fair elections, China border row and discussions on the working of ministries like Defence and External Affairs but unfortunately and not surprisingly, the ruling BJP has denied it.

Taking on the Prime Minister, she said all know that Modi has "rebranded, repackaged and marketed" numerous initiatives taken during the UPA era as "his own personal accomplishments" and it needs to be "exposed" through public outreach activities.

Sonia also referred to the functioning of Parliament and alleged that Leaders of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi are not allowed to speak and the treasury benches are often found to be creating disturbance in a bid to not allow the Congress to raise their issues.

"It is a matter of grave concern to our democracy that the LoP in the Lok Sabha is not permitted to speak. Similarly, time and again, the LoP in the Rajya Sabha, Kharge-ji is also not allowed to say what he wants to say and indeed must say,” she said.

“Like you, I have been witness to how the House gets adjourned not because of us but because of the protests by the treasury benches themselves. This is quite extraordinary and shocking, designed to prevent the Opposition from raising their concerns that would put the government on the spot," she said.

Sonia also wanted Congress MPs to be "equally aggressive and raise the failures and mis-governance in BJP-ruled states" in a counter to the BJP MPs targeting Congress-ruled states with "total falsehoods". (ENDS)