Interview: Trump’s tariffs not waqf needed urgent attention, argues this communist MP

“Today is April 2, a historic day,” Raja Ram Singh noted as he rose to weigh in on the Modi government’s Waqf (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. “America’s tariffs will be announced today. But this is a historic day also because instead of holding a discussion on the tariffs, we are discussing the two bills presented by the honourable minister.”

In his four-minute speech, the first-time MP from Bihar went on to liken the present-day United States to the East India Company for “threatening” developing countries with tariffs. Instead of strongly pushing back against American tariffs announced against India, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation MP contended that the BJP is practising the “politics of polarisation” to divert the agenda by discussing Islamic endowments known as waqfs.

The Lok Sabha discussion on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, and Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill, 2024, began at noon on Wednesday and lasted for nearly 14 hours. While Parliament’s lower house was voting on the proposed changes to laws governing the management of waqfs, US President Donald Trump announced a 27% tariff on American imports from India.

On Thursday, Trump’s announcement provoked sharp reactions from prominent opposition MPs inside and outside the parliament. Amidst the...

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