[Watch] How Opposition Reacts To Waqf Bill Passage: From Pushpa Raj-Style Roar, Tearing Up Draft To Black Ribbons

New Delhi/Chennai: From roaring in the Rajya Sabha in Pushpa Raj style to black ribbons in Tamil Nadu state Assembly, opposition leaders have strongly opposed and reacted to the passage of Waqf Bill in the Lok Sabha after a marathon discussion on Wednesday. Invoking the fiery dialogue from Pushpa, a popular film, Congress president,

Mallikarjun Kharge roared in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday by stating ‘Jhukunga nahi!’ It was his fiery rebuttal to BJP MP Anurag Thakur’s accusation that he had grabbed Waqf land.

Thakur made the allegation during a discussion on the Waqf bill in the Lok Sabha a day earlier. In a scathing response, the senior Congress leader also demanded an apology, stating that he would not bow to political attacks.
‘I may break, but I will never bend…’

“Agar BJP ke log mujhe darakar jhukaana chahte hain, main kabhi nahi jhukunga. Main toot jaaunga but jhukunga nahi. Yaad rakho, main daraane se darrne vaala nahi (If BJP leaders want to scare me into submission, I will never bow down. I may break, but I will never bend. Remember, I am not someone who gets scared by intimidation),” he said.

“My life has always been an open book. It has been full of struggles and battles. But I have always upheld the highest values in public life. After almost 60 years in politics, I don’t deserve this. Yesterday, completely false and baseless charges were hurled at me in the Lok Sabha by Anurag Thakur. When challenged by my colleagues, he was forced to withdraw his remarks. “But the damage has been done,” Kharge added.

“He (Thakur) should resign. But if his charges are proved, I will resign…If he proves that even one matter of Waqf land is occupied by me or my children, I will resign. I’m not afraid of these things. I’m the son of a labourer,” Kharge said.
‘Will move Supreme Court….’

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin and DMK MLAs in the Tamil Nadu Assembly wore black ribbons against the Waqf Amendment Bill. “DMK will approach the Supreme Court on this Waqf Amendment Bill,” said Stalin.

‘Brazen assault on Constitution…’

Earlier in the day, Congess MP Sonia Gandhi asserted that the Waqf Amendment Bill was bulldozed through in the Lok Sabha. She called it a BJP ploy to keep society in a “state of permanent polarisation”. She made these comments at the Congress’s general body meeting. Sonia urged the party to “expose” the Narendra Modi government’s intention to turn India into a “surveillance state”.

“The Waqf Amendment Bill was in effect bulldozed through. Our party’s position is clear. The bill is a brazen assault on the Constitution itself,” the Rajya Sabha MP said.

“Like Mahatma Gandhi, I am tearing up this law….”

Asaduddin Owaisi, chief of AIMIM and the MP from Hyderabad, held a dramatic protest against the Waqf Amendment Bill,i while participating in the Lok Sabha debate. He cited the example of Mahatma Gandhi. “If you read history, you would see that he (Mahatma Gandhi) said about the laws of white South Africa, ‘My conscience doesn’t accept this’ and he tore it up. “Like Gandhi, I am also tearing up this law,” he said.