Viral Video: In the middle of a heated debate between ruling and opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) over the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2025 in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday night, an old video Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav resurfaced, sparking a political debate.
In the video, now viral on social media and dated May 7, 2010, Lalu Prasad Yadav is heard raising concerns about land encroachments linked to Waqf properties and advocating for stricter laws to prevent it.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, JD-U leader and Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Prasad (Lallan Singh) and HAM(S) founder and Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi cited Lalu’s the 2010 Lok Sabha speech to highlight “double standards” of the opposition on the Waqf issue.
The three leaders, all MPs from Bihar, said that Lalu’s past remarks contradict his current opposition to the amendments proposed by the Narendra Modi-led Union government.
The Lok Sabha passed the controversial Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025 in the wee hours of April 3, after over a 12-hour debate. The ruling NDA members strongly defended the legislation as beneficial for minorities, while the opposition described it as “anti-Muslim” during the debate.
The Bill was passed after all amendments moved by the opposition members were rejected by voice votes. It was passed after a division of votes – 288 in favour and 232 against.
Lalu, former chief minister of Bihar, and ex- Union Minister, has been a prominent Opposition voice since 2014. The 76-year-old maverick politician is battling low blood pressure and high blood sugar, and was shifted to Delhi’s AIIMS for treatment on April 3 – the day Lok Sabha was discussing Waqf Amendment Bill, 2025.
What Lalu Yadav said in 2010?
In the video, Lalu Yadav is seen speaking in the Lok Sabha in his trademark style in Hindi. “Look, there should be a very strict law. All the land has been grabbed — whether it’s government land or private land, or land belonging to those who worked there,” he said in Parliament.
Nagpur ka kanoon: Tejaswi
Lalu’s son and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has slammed the Waqf Bill calling it unconstitutional. “This is an unconstitutional Bill. We are people who believe in the Constitution. People of BJP want to impose ‘Nagpur ka kanoon’; that is not at all acceptable to us. We believe in ‘Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb’, the diversity of our country is the beauty of it,” he said.
The Lalu video was shared by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on social media, drawing attention to what many see as a contradiction between Lalu’s past and RJD’s current stance on the Waqf Bill.
“Everything has been sold off. Prime land. It’s not like it was agricultural land. All the property near Patna’s Dak Bungalow has been turned into apartments. Everyone has looted. From now on… well, today, go ahead and bring this, we will pass your amendment. But going forward, whatever process is being created, it must be done strictly,” Lalu said in the Parliament.
The video resurfaces in an election year. Bihar Assembly Elections are scheduled for later this year.
RJD spokesperson Ejaz Ahmad countered that Lalu had never advocated curtailing Waqf board powers. “Lalu wanted a strict law to protect Waqf properties. Today’s amendment bill is just about limiting Waqf powers,” he was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
Everything has been sold off. Prime land… All the property near Patna’s Dak Bungalow has been turned into apartments.
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