'Created new record': Kiren Rijiju hails Rajya Sabha debate

New Delhi: Hailing the passage of the Waqf Amendment Bill, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Friday said history was made in the Rajya Sabha, as the debate, inlcuding on Manipur, lasted more than 17 hours in the Upper House.

The minister highlighted that the record 17-hour debate in the Upper House (after over 12 hours in Lok Sabha) did not feature a single disruption and as promised, the Opposition did not cause disorder. Addressing a press conference, Rijiju said all processes were followed and the House functioned till 4am. "...and then you say the bill was 'bulldozed' on us? We saw history being made... but rather than appreciating that, you are saying we are 'bulldozing' the bill through. This is not right," Rijiju said referring to Sonia Gandhi's remarks.

Yesterday, during the Congress' parliamentary party, a statement was released that the bill was passed forcefully and (by) bulldozing procedures. "But we have a record... there has never been this much discussion in parliamentary history," Rijiju said.

He also claimed that the bill would have got many more votes if Opposition parties had not issued whips and allowed their members to vote according to their choice as many such MPs expressed "support" to him privately.