New Delhi: The Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, on Thursday termed the allegations levelled against him by Anurag Thakur in the Lok Sabha baseless, saying the remarks damaged his reputation as he dared the BJP MP to prove them or else resign.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, the Congress president said the BJP MP was compelled to withdraw his defamatory remarks made during the debate on the Waqf Bill in the Lower House.
"But the damage has been done," Kharge said.Anurag Thakur alleged that the Waqf Board had to administer properties for the welfare of the Muslim community but the Congress and other opposition parties irresponsibly used the land to set up an empire which they used as their "vote bank ATM".
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Participating in the debate on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 in the Lower House, Anurag Thakur said the time has come to change the Waqf boards as they have become a "hub of corruption" and accused the Congress of once again creating an atmosphere of confusion in the country.
The Bill is not just for a change in law but a clear message -- that the country will be run only in accordance with the Constitution, new agency PTI quoted Anurag Thakur.
"You will have to decide whether you will stand with the Constitution or with Waqf," he said.
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'Land jihad'
Defending the Waqf Bill, Anurag Thakur said, "India has seen a partition in 1947. That partition happened because of one family and one party. Today, we will not allow a second partition in the name of land jihad. We will not allow it to happen. India needs freedom from the fear of the Waqf Board."
The BJP leader accused the opposition parties of opposing the bill for political motives, rather than considering what he called the "injustice" in the way Waqf properties are administered.
