New Delhi, April 4 -- 128 votes were in favour of the Bill and 95 against

The Waqf Bill, after a smooth passage through Lok Sabha, breezed through the Rajya Sabha 24 hours later, after yet another marathon debate. On its way, it exposed a chink in the armour of the parties opposing the Bill. The voting was 128 votes in favour of the Bill and 95 against it.

Just a few hours before the voting, Naveen Patkaik's Biju Janata Dal opened the gates for a 'conscience vote' telling its seven Upper House MPs that they would not be bound by a whip and could vote for whichever side they wanted.

The party's senior leader Sasmit Patra, in a post on X, said they took that view after taking into consideration the sentiments of "different sections of th...