Samastha mouthpiece slams Priyanka Gandhi’s absence in Lok Sabha during discussion, voting on Waqf Bill

Suprabhatham criticizes Priyanka Gandhi's absence during Waqf Amendment Bill voting, urging opposition to challenge BJP's divisive legislation.

Suprabhatham, the mouthpiece of the influential Muslim social organisation Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, has criticised the absence of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress’ MP from Wayanad in Kerala, during the discussions and voting on the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024, in Lok Sabha on Wednesday (April 2, 2025).

In an editorial on Friday (April 4), Suprabhatham said Ms. Vadra’s non-attendance from Lok Sabha violated the Congress’ whip and would remain “an indelible stain in collective memory.”

The newspaper said the nation had looked forward to Ms. Vadra’s defence of secularism and minority rights in Parliament.

However, the editorial said, “The question where Ms. Vadra was when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) systematically bulldozed the Constitutional rights of Muslims would echo in perpetuity.” 

The newspaper said the question of why Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, did not speak against the divisive Bill would also “reverberate through eternity.”

Suprabhatham stated that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre pushed through the Bill to usurp Waqf properties. “The Bill sought to demonise Muslims and render them subaltern citizens by depriving the community of its constitutionally guaranteed rights,” he said.

Suprabhatham praised the Congress, the Left, and socialist Janata Dal parties for their strong opposition to the Bill. It noted that Waqf properties are “the backbone and bulwark” of the Muslim community. It urged secular democratic forces in the country to challenge the Bill politically and legally and asserted that the Bill is “a brazen violation” of Article 25 and Article 26 of the Constitution.