As government backtracks on broadcasting and waqf bills, Opposition buoyed – but cautious

The Union government on Monday withdrew a contentious draft of the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill after weeks of criticism from media organisations, digital content creators and internet policy experts that the proposed law was aimed at clamping down on voices that criticised the ruling party.

This came just four days after a bill proposing amendments to the Waqf Act, 1995, was sent to a joint parliamentary committee for greater scrutiny – the first time this has happened in five years. The bill aimed to change the laws governing Islamic charitable endowments, or waqf. Opposition parties attacked the bill as being “anti-Muslim”. Even allies of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party such as the Telugu Desam Party, Janata Dal (United) and Lok Janshakti Party pushed for wider consultation on the bill.

These two instances signal a departure from how the BJP government appeared to bulldoze bills through Parliament in the first two terms of Narendra Modi when the party enjoyed a majority on its own in the Lok Sabha. Bills were discussed for shorter durations and the number of bills sent to standing committees and parliamentary panels declined from the terms of the previous Congress-led government.

Opposition leaders believe that with the BJP falling short of a majority in the last elections and dependant on the support of its allies in the National Democratic Alliance, the government’s handling of the two bills in the recently concluded session is a sign of green shoots in the functioning of Parliament.

“The government has come to terms with how Indian democracy works,” said Supriya Shrinate, the chairperson of Congress’ social media and digital platforms wing.

The Waqf Bill is an example that the BJP now has to deal with backroom negotiations even as its allies continue to support the government. The Janata Dal (United) and Telugu Desam Party supported the Waqf Bill on the floor of the House, but internally, they insisted on more discussion, according to media reports.

Muslim leaders from the two parties told Scroll that they will continue to oppose the government on matters that hurt the interests of their community. “If the government takes steps that are against minorities, it is our duty to give advice,” said a Janata Dal (United) MLC from Bihar, on condition of anonymity.

The position taken by its allies was a sign that the needle had shifted from the unbridled power the BJP enjoyed, said Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi. “This was the first controversial bill that this government moved and its allies ensured that it goes to a joint parliamentary committee,” she said.

‘In arm wrestling mode’

The government having to backtrack on two bills within two months of coming to power reflected the new reality where, as Trinamool Congress MP Jawhar Sircar described, the Opposition is in an “arm wrestling mode” in Parliament.

Sircar said that the differences over the Waqf Bill within the ruling alliance showed that it blinked first when it came to speaking in the same voice in Parliament, while the Opposition parties stayed united. He said that he expected the BJP’s allies to force the government water down several provisions of the Waqf Bill.

Leaders of the Janata Dal (United) and the Telugu Desam Party told Scroll that the decision to push for discussions by a joint parliamentary committee came from the topmost levels of the two parties.

The Janata Dal (United) MLC said that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar “wanted to take all communities along”. On being reminded that his party MP Lalan Singh had said in Parliament that the Opposition was spreading rumours about the Waqf Bill, the MLC said that it was Singh’s own view.

A minority cell leader of the Telugu Desam Party, who requested anonymity, said that it was Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu who asked MPs to convince the government to send the bill for scrutiny to a joint parliamentary panel.

Asked why his party supported the bill in Parliament, he said: “The Waqf Act needs reforms, but the amendments should not dilute the existing laws. We are committed to protect the interests of Muslims.”

Also read: Why Muslim leaders are objecting to new waqf bill

Chaturvedi of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) saw this as a win for the Opposition, saying that the Waqf Bill had now been stalled till at least the Winter Session of Parliament.

She said that there was a noticable change even in the daily proceedings of Parliament. “It is not just about the Broadcasting and Waqf Bill, look at the debates in Parliament, look at the discussions on the Budget, it is clear that the government can no longer run the show,” Chaturvedi said.

Shrinate of the Congress party saw the withdrawal of the Broadcasting Bill as a defeat for the government. “They wanted to target digital news outlets, journalists and content creators on social media platforms who have been the only critical voices but it is longer going to be easy to bulldoze such bills in Parliament,” she said.

Word of caution

The optimism within the Opposition ranks, however, comes with an air of caution – especially over how the government dragged its feet in announcing directly that the draft Broadcasting Bill had been withdrawn. Even as many media reports said so, a tweet by the the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting only mentioned the first draft of the bill that was made public in November. The tweet did not make any reference to the latest draft that was not made public and was shared with only a handful of stakeholders last month.

The ministry also said it would receive feedback on the bill till October 15 and a fresh draft will be introduced “after detailed consultations”. This has led to suspicions among the Opposition and content creators that the government is planning to introduce another draft of the bill that will have similar provisions as the current one.

“I think the government will use ambiguous word play to give a broader scope of interpretation to the bill,” said Chaturvedi. “The fresh draft could link the provisions to national security and national interests like they did with the Post Office Bill.”

The Post Office Bill, passed by Parliament in December, gave the government power to intercept items sent via post on grounds like security of state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, emergency and public safety. Opposition MPs said that the law violated the Right to Privacy and was ambiguous in its definitions.

Trinamool Congress MP Sircar said that the withdrawal of the bill was a “strategic retreat” by the government. He pointed out that under Prime Minister Modi, the Centre has introduced laws like the Telecommunications Act, 2023 and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and amendments to the Cinematograph Act, 1952 with the aim of “strangling the internet, journalism and freedom of expression at large”. Many experts have highlighted the government’s tendency to impose stringent censorship through these laws.

Also read: How India’s Broadcast Bill will muzzle content creators

Like Opposition leaders, content creators too are not convinced that the government backtracking on the Broadcasting Bill means that it has accepted defeat on the matter. “They will come back harder at us,” said YouTube journalist Meghnad S. “The second draft of the bill was much worse than the one introduced in November. You could expect the same with the next one.”

He said that the government was caught off-guard as it did not expect the kind of backlash the bill received. With the next draft of the bill, Meghnad thinks the government will be better prepared. “I think the government will look for other ways to bulldoze the bill,” he said. “It could take the money bill route or introduce the bill on a Friday when there is usually lesser attendance in Parliament.”

Unlike other bills, a money bill need not be passed in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. It requires assent only from the Lok Sabha, and the Speaker of the Lok Sabha has the discretionary power to designate any bill as money bill. The Opposition has criticised the Modi-led government for introducing crucial laws through this route, purportedly to circumvent the Rajya Sabha where it has not always enjoyed a majority.

While bracing for a fresh draft of the bill, the Opposition leaders appeared confident to put up a resistance in Parliament. “You can expect even fence sitters like the Bharat Rashtra Samithi and YSR Congress to support us,” said Sircar.

Shrinate, too, threw a challenge to the government. “Let them bring the bill back, they will see the might of the Opposition,” she said.