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Union Home Minister Amit Shah said minority — women and the poor Muslims — within the minority community are being empowered but the Congress is protesting the Waqf (Amendment) Act
Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke during the second day of the Rising Bharat Summit 2025 on April 9. (Image: News18)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday questioned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s silence during the debate in Parliament over the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which was passed in both Houses last week, and attacked Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi for being absent during the intense discussion.
He said only some leaders in the Muslim community are protesting against the new law, for which the Supreme Court will hear petitions challenging it on April 15. He added that minority — women and the poor — within the minority community are being empowered but the Congress is protesting the legislation.
“Why did Priyanka Gandhi not vote? Why did Rahul Gandhi not speak if this was such a big issue for them? Rahul Gandhi shouts from roof top that he is not allowed to speak…why did he not? He could have spoken the entire time allotted to his party,” he said.
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Shah said not all party decisions are to attract votes, but also to weed out “wrong policies”. Asked if he feared a CAA-like retaliation in the form of protests, he said: “Rahul Gandhi and company went to town alleging that the law (CAA) will take away citizenship. My open challenge to Rahul Gandhi, show me one citizen who lost his citizenship. They are responsible for the violence that happened and, hopefully, they would have learnt their lesson.”
The BJP recently attacked Priyanka for being absent in the Lok Sabha during the voting for the Waqf (Amendment) Act. It said the Gandhi siblings failed to represent Wayanad, which is a Muslim-majority constituency.
While Priyanka was absent from the proceedings, Rahul entered the House just before the voting and did not speak on the matter. In fact, he was reportedly seen dozing off during the session. Rahul spoke only after the Bill was cleared by the Lok Sabha.
“The Waqf (Amendment) Bill is a weapon aimed at marginalising Muslims and usurping their personal laws and property rights. This attack on the Constitution by the RSS, BJP and their allies is aimed at Muslims today but sets a precedent to target other communities in the future,” he said.