The first family leaders of Congress, Rahul and Priyanka Vadra, are at the receiving end — the former for keeping mum during the entire heated discussion on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025, and the latter for skipping the entire session. This is an unpredictable deviation from Congress’s declared policy to oppose the Government’s Bill. Congress, as well as the INDI Alliance it leads, have been alleging that the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025 is an attack on Muslims and their rights. However, they have been keeping silent about the victims of the draconian Waqf Law.
Meanwhile, Hibi Eden, the Congress MP from the Ernakulam Parliamentary Constituency, has been playing hide and seek since the very beginning of the Munambam Waqf issue. Now, the Munambam stir has entered its 174th day.
Observers call Rahul’s ‘mouni’ presence and mute drama on the floor of the Lok Sabha an insult to his party and fellow MPs. He forgets the fact that he holds the statutory position of ‘Leader of the Opposition’ (LoP). He should have discharged the minimum responsibility of participating in the discussion, let alone leading the Opposition benches.
But what Priyanka Vadra did is graver still. She ignored the whip issued by the Congress leadership. It is as good as betraying her party as well as the Alliance it leads, and also the Members of the House belonging to her party and the constituents of the Alliance the ‘First Family’ of the Congress heads. Non-compliance with the party whip is considered a violation of the Anti-Defection Law. It can also lead to loss of membership in the legislature.
The Tenth Schedule of the Anti-Defection Law was inserted into the Constitution in 1985. It lays down the process by which legislators may be disqualified on grounds of defection by the Presiding Officer of a legislature, based on a petition by any other member of the House. A legislator is deemed to have defected if they either voluntarily give up membership of their party or disobey the directives of the party leadership on a vote. This implies that a legislator defying (abstaining or voting against) the party whip on any issue can lose their membership of the House. The law applies to both Parliament and State Assemblies.
But it is a million-dollar question whether a prominent member of the ‘First Family’ has to worry about the aforementioned.
If one analyses the reason for Priyanka’s ‘hide’ and Rahul’s ‘mute’, the answer is not simple: there are those who see it as a trick to woo non-Muslim voters. At the same time, Muslim organisations are desperate and frustrated with her action. Suprabhatham, the morning daily of Samastha Kerala Jamiathul Ulema, a powerful Muslim outfit in the Malabar zone, has come out expressing dissatisfaction with the actions of Priyanka Vadra and Rahul. It says the reason for Priyanka’s absence in the Lok Sabha during the crucial discussion and voting will remain a permanent question. And the non-participation of Rahul during the discussion is objectionable. In other words, Muslim outfits are totally upset.
This is going to make a lot of difference in the electoral politics of Kerala, since the local self-government body elections are due by September 2025, and Assembly elections are due in April 2026. The passing of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025 is going to be a shot in the arm for the BJP in Kerala.
Meanwhile, Congress leaders are unable to answer the questions being raised by alliance partners. They do not even say whether Priyanka is within or outside the country.
The dissatisfaction of the Muslim community is going to boomerang against Congress and the INDI Alliance in the days and months to come. Now, the Christian community is by and large against the INDI Alliance and the CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) with regard to the Waqf issue, especially Munambam. Not only that — they are openly rubbing shoulders with leaders of the BJP and other Hindu organisations like Hindu Aikya Vedi, BMS, and ABVP in this regard.
