The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, was passed by the Parliament on April 3 and has received a nod from the president too. The bill aims to reform the management of waqf properties in India by including non-Muslim members in Waqf boards and enhancing government oversight. Supporters argue it will improve transparency and reduce corruption, while critics contend it may infringe upon Muslim rights and lead to the seizure of historic religious properties lacking formal documentation.
In the above context, a video of AIMIM leader and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has gone viral on social media in which he seems to be rubbing his eyes while sitting in the Parliament.
The video is shared with a caption claiming that Owaisi was seen crying in the Parliament after the Waqf Bill was passed by the House.
A social media user shared the video with a caption that reads, “Saw Barrister Asaduddin Owaisi Sahab crying in Parliament today. My heart broke. His tears contained the pain of millions of people, the cry for justice Fais echoing in my soul.” (Translated from Hindi)
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The viral video is old.
On a Google reverse image search, we found that the same video was shared on the Instagram page of AIMIM on August 7, 2024. The video was shared with a caption that read, “President Barrister Asaduddin Owaisi raised the question in Parliament that despite acknowledging inflation in the Income Tax Act, why the same tax is imposed on the poor and the middle class as before?” (Translated from Hindi)
In the video, Owaisi can be seen wearing the same dress in the viral video. The viral video shows Owaisi being seated and someone else delivering the speech. However, the one shared by AIMIM shows him speaking, and the video ends with him being seated.
But on further searching, we found a video on the Sandad TV’s YouTube channel. The video was shared on August 7, 2024, the same day as the Instagram post. In this video, at around 4:34 timestamp, Pappu Yadav, the independent MP from Purnia, Bihar, is seen speaking in the Lok Sabha while Owaisi is sitting. In this video, Owaisi is seen removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes and forehead and putting his glasses back. His actions in the video were misinterpreted as him crying.
Therefore, we can say that the video is old and does not show Owaisi crying.
