Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav took a dig at the ruling BJP on Wednesday, questioning why the country's largest political party is not able to elect its president, prompting Home Minister Amit Shah to say it takes time to arrive at such decisions as the BJP is not a dynastic party.
Participating in a debate on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 in the Lok Sabha, Yadav asked why has the BJP not decided who will be its next president.
"The BJP claims to be the largest party in India but it still has not decided on its leader?" he asked.
Shah swiftly countered Yadav, saying the BJP is not a dynastic party and thus, it takes time to decide on its leadership, unlike parties where succession is predetermined.
"In some parties, only five members of a family have to choose the president so it is easy and quick, but we have to elect (a president) following a process that involves crores of members, so it takes time," he said.
Yadav then brought up Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters, hinting at the BJP's long-standing policy of retiring leaders at the age 75.
The SP leader asked if Modi's visit was meant to extend that rule, stirring laughter in the House.
Rumours being spread about Waqf bill: Shah
Shah on Wednesday asserted that for vote bank politics, fear is being spread that Waqf bill is interference in religious matters of Muslims and properties donated by them.
Making an intervention in Lok Sabha during a debate on the Waqf amendment bill, he also said that non-Muslims in Waqf council and boards are meant purely for ensuring administration of properties in accordance with stated aims.
He underlined that Waqf is a type of charitable institution where a person donates his property for social, religious or public welfare purposes, without the right to take it back.
Shah said the word 'donation' has special importance because donation can be done only of that thing which is our own property. No one can donate government property, he asserted.
Addressing the House, Shah said vote bank is being created by intimidating minorities and confusion is being spread in the country by creating an atmosphere of fear among the minorities.
There was no provision earlier to include any non-Muslim person among those who run religious institutions, nor is the NDA government going to do so, he said.
"To those who give big speeches that the right to equality has ended or there will be discrimination between two religions or the religious rights of Muslims will be interfered with, I want to tell them that nothing like this is going to happen," the senior BJP leader underlined.
He also said the Waqf law was made 'extreme' in 2013 for appeasement ahead of parliamentary polls and if the law was not tweaked then, the present bill might not have been needed happen.
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