Mayawati questions Rahul Gandhi's silence on Waqf Bill during Parliament debate
Lucknow, Apr 12 (PTI): Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Saturday criticised Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for not speaking on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill during a long debate in Parliament.
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said "it is natural for Muslims to feel considerably angry and for INDIA bloc partners to be agitated on the issue".
"Despite the opposition denouncing the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and dubbing it as a case of flouting the Constitution like the CAA, is the decision of the LoP in Lok Sabha to not speak on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in the House despite the fact that there was an extensive debate on the issue justified?" she said in her post on X in Hindi.
Mayawati said that "in any case, the Congress and the BJP are equally guilty of virtually depriving the Dalits of welfare, government jobs, education by virtually making the reservation rights ineffective and redundant".
"It is important that the religious minorities realise the need to escape from the deception of these parties," she added.
The BSP chief said the "Bahujans have fared poorly in all aspects" due to "such tactics of these parties" even as the BJP has the right to take the law in their hands.
"The issue of privatisation in power and other sectors is also worrisome and the government must discharge its constitutional responsibility towards people's welfare in all honesty," she added.
The BSP chief had earlier on Thursday asked the Centre to reconsider the provisions in the new Waqf law and suspend it for the time being.
Mayawati noted that the recently passed Act's provision of including non-Muslims in the Waqf Board prima facie does not appear good.
The Centre on Tuesday notified the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, which got the assent of President Droupadi Murmu on April 5 after its passage from Parliament following heated debates in both houses.
The bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha with 128 members voting in favour and 95 opposing it.
It was cleared by the Lok Sabha with 288 members supporting it and 232 against it.
1. वक्फ संशोधन बिल पर लोकसभा में हुई लम्बी चर्चा में नेता प्रतिपक्ष द्वारा कुछ नहीं बोलना अर्थात सीएए की तरह संविधान उल्लंघन का मामला होने के विपक्ष के आरोप के बावजूद इनका चुप्पी साधे रहना क्या उचित? इसे लेकर मुस्लिम समाज में आक्रोश व इनके इण्डिया गठबंधन में भी बेचैनी स्वाभाविक।
— Mayawati (@Mayawati) April 12, 2025
2. वैसे भी देश में बहुजनों के हित, कल्याण एवं सरकारी नौकरी व शिक्षा आदि में इन वर्गों के आरक्षण के अधिकार को निष्प्रभावी व निष्क्रिय बनाकर इन्हें वंचित बनाए रखने के मामले में कांग्रेस, भाजपा आदि ये पार्टियाँ बराबर की दोषी। धार्मिक अल्पसंख्यकों को भी इनके छलावा से बचना जरूरी।
— Mayawati (@Mayawati) April 12, 2025
3. इनके ऐसे रवैयों के कारण उत्तर प्रदेश में भी बहुजनों की स्थिति हर मामले में काफी बदहाल व त्रस्त जबकि भाजपाइयों को कानून हाथ में लेने की छूट। साथ ही, बिजली व अन्य सरकारी विभागों में बढ़ते हुए निजीकरण से हालात चिन्तनीय। सरकार जनकल्याण का संवैधानिक दायित्व सही से निभाए।
— Mayawati (@Mayawati) April 12, 2025
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Informing Pakistan ahead of Operation Sindoor was a crime: Rahul Gandhi on Jaishankar's 'admission'
New Delhi, May 17 (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit out at the government for "informing" Pakistan about targeting terror infrastructure as part of Operation Sindoor, saying it was a crime and asking who had authorised it.
In a post on X, Gandhi questioned External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar for publicly admitting that the government of India (GOI) had informed Pakistan of the action and asked how many aircraft the Indian Air Force lost as a result.
"Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime. EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it. Who authorised it? How many aircraft did our air force lose as a result?" said Gandhi, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha.
He also shared an undated video of Jaishankar saying India had informed Pakistan of the action against terror infrastructure on its soil.
Jaishankar can be heard saying in the video, "At the start of the operation, we had sent a message to Pakistan, saying, 'We are striking at terrorist infrastructure and we are not striking at the military.'"
"So the military has the option of standing out and not interfering in this process. They chose not to take that good advice," the minister can be heard saying in the clip.
The Press Information Bureau (PIB), however, has debunked claims that Jaishankar had said India informed Pakistan ahead of Operation Sindoor. In a post on X, the PIB's Fact Check Unit said the minister had not made any such statement and that he was being misquoted.
Operation Sindoor was the Indian offensive against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam.
Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 17, 2025
EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it.
1. Who authorised it?
2. How many aircraft did our airforce lose as a result? pic.twitter.com/KmawLLf4yW
