The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, was formally tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, just a day after its passage in the Lok Sabha following an intense 12-hour debate. The bill was cleared in the Lower House with 288 votes in favor and 232 against, reflecting deep divisions between the ruling BJP and the Opposition.

The bill aims to reform the management of Waqf properties by introducing a more transparent and technology-driven administrative system. The government claims the amendments will eliminate complexities, bring clarity, and ensure accountability in the handling of Waqf assets.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah defended the legislation during the Lok Sabha session, pushing back against criticism from the Congress party. Shah accused the Opposition of fear-mongering and clarified that the bill does not interfere with religious matters or property donated by the Muslim community. “That the Waqf bill is interference in Muslims’ religious matters and properties donated by them is fear-mongering for vote-bank,” Shah stated.

As the Rajya Sabha began its discussions, Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge strongly criticized Union Minister Anurag Thakur over his earlier claims regarding a scam in the Karnataka Waqf board. Kharge asserted there was no land grabbing and challenged the BJP to either prove the allegations or demand Thakur’s resignation.

BJP national president JP Nadda is scheduled to speak in the Rajya Sabha at 1 PM, a key moment in the ongoing discussion over the bill. His address is expected to reinforce the government’s position on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and counter the Opposition’s allegations.

Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha was adjourned till Friday. Before adjournment, the House took up a statutory resolution concerning the situation in Manipur, a move questioned by Opposition MPs who argued whether it was the appropriate time to raise the matter. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is currently addressing the issue.

In a decisive ruling, the Supreme Court has upheld the Calcutta High Court’s order cancelling over 25,000 appointments of teachers and non-teaching staff made through the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC), delivering a substantial blow to the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government. The top court called the recruitment process “vitiated by manipulation and fraud”, effectively denouncing its credibility.

Supreme Court backs high court verdict

A bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice PV Sanjay Kumar declined to intervene in the high court’s decision, affirming that the appointments were the result of systemic cheating and thus could not be allowed to stand. The court concluded that the entire recruitment exercise had been compromised.

Fresh selection ordered, salary waiver for qualified candidates

The Supreme Court directed the West Bengal government to initiate a fresh selection process within three months. Individuals who qualify through the new recruitment drive will not be required to return the salaries they earned since their initial appointment in 2016. However, those failing to qualify will need to repay the money they received. An exception has been made for persons with disabilities, who are allowed to retain their current postings.

Illegal supernumerary posts and massive recruitment scam

The recruitment irregularities trace back to the 2016 state-level selection test, which saw participation from over 23 lakh candidates for 24,640 sanctioned vacancies. However, the government went on to issue 25,753 appointment letters, reportedly creating unauthorized supernumerary posts. These posts became a conduit for alleged illegal appointments, triggering judicial intervention.

Political fallout and arrests

The recruitment scandal has had significant political ramifications, with multiple senior leaders of the ruling Trinamool Congress under scrutiny. Notably, former education minister Partha Chatterjee—once a close confidante of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee—is currently in jail after large amounts of cash were seized from his possession during the investigation.

Reacting to the court’s decision, senior BJP leader Amit Malviya termed it a “crushing defeat” for Mamata Banerjee. He called for accountability at the highest levels, suggesting that the Chief Minister must also face legal consequences for the recruitment scam that allegedly derailed thousands of young careers in the state.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said colleges and universities should work on developing a syllabus that will bring together the innovation of Albert Einstein with the compassion of the Buddha in their students.

Speaking at the Bharat Shiksha Summit, LG Sinha said universities should work on bringing a mixture of compassion and innovation into their courses along with moral progress to make education meaningful.

He said the centre of modern education has been lost by ignoring the values of life quoting from Nietzsche. Memory has become the most important facility for students and not knowledge, he said, and said that situation must be undone.

Crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for coming up with the New Education Policy 2020, he said rote learning has been identified as a problem holding back education. Knowledge gained by experience is what matters most, he said.

The Lieutenant Governor said students should learn knowledge from their teachers. Teachers should teach students skills and natural curiosity without impeding the latter.

Earlier, he said education is a personal journey, a journey of one’s own self. If children can recognise what is within them, they will definitely succeed in life.

“Kabir das did not know how to write his name but today over 1,000 people have done PhDs on him. A person needs to recognise the voice of his heart. The primary task should be to recognise the inner voice of the child,” LG Sinha said.

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said that India’s history shows that Nalanda and Taxila guided the world. Today, the New Education Policy is working to prepare the future generation.

“You only need knowledge and jobs will follow you. Youth is the picture of the coming future. In the coming times, the youth will not ask for jobs but will give jobs,” he said.

Reflecting on the progress under the Yogi Adityanath government in education in the state, Pathak said improved infrastructure in the field of basic education is benefitting 1.90 crore children. The focus is on basic education schools and quality education. The state has also progressed in curbing cheating in exams with anti-cheating campaigns.

He noted that students need knowledge and should be brought out of the craze for marks. Teachers should ensure all kids understand topics well instead of focusing on the better students. He wondered why there wasn’t a law on the lines of consumer rights to ensure teachers did their jobs properly.

Noting that some children even commit suicide over losing a few marks that would have got them across some threshold, he said some changes need to be urgently made in this scenario.

Pathak called on students not to worry about mugging up and landing jobs and instead focus on gaining knowledge. The youth have to work towards governing the country in Viksit Bharat as the country moves towards development under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and not be content with salaried jobs.

Kurukshetra MP Naveen Jindal said good education is needed to ensure a good future of the country. As Vedanta says that we need to focus on Swadharma. Education brings us all together. We will invest in educating the coming generation.

Association of Indian Universities Secretary General Pankaj Mittal said global universities are now queuing up to open campuses in India. Over 12 lakh Indian students go abroad to study while some 50,000 students come to study in the country. She said the setting up of campuses by foreign universities in the country will ensure students will get the education of their choice at 1/4^th the cost.