Srinagar: Mehbooba, NC slam Waqf Bill passage; Call it Robbery, brute majoritarianism

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti said called the Waqf is a minority institution and it belongs to Muslims

As the Rajya Sabha passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025 on Friday, fierce reactions emerged from Jammu and Kashmir’s political landscape. Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti called the move a “robbery” of Muslim institutions, while National Conference (NC) MP Ruhullah Mehdi termed it a clear sign of “brute majoritarianism.”

Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti (HT File)

“This should not have happened. The Waqf is a minority institution and belongs to Muslims. To bulldoze it in Parliament in this way amounts to robbery. It’s very wrong and must be condemned,” Mehbooba told the media after the bill was passed.

The bill was cleared following intense debate in both Houses of Parliament. Mehdi, NC’s MP from Srinagar, claimed he was not even allowed to speak as a Muslim voice from Kashmir. “India has entered a dark era of brute majoritarianism where minority voices are suppressed. The Waqf Bill was passed in the dead of night, exposing the RSS-BJP regime’s anti-Muslim intent,” he said in a strong statement.

Mehdi further accused the government of engineering a “state-sponsored dispossession” of Muslim properties. “Taking away Waqf autonomy, abolishing the ‘Waqf by user’ clause, and enabling land grabbers to claim Muslim properties is a dangerous move. This fight against such bigoted policies will only grow stronger,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mehbooba Mufti also targeted chief minister Omar Abdullah for holding an alliance meeting over what she termed a “minor issue” — the transfer of employees by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.

“On crucial matters, there is silence. Forget Article 370, they won’t even mention it. Issues that affect people deeply are being ignored, while the government is busy discussing why a Patwari was transferred. This trivialises the mandate the people gave them. It’s a mockery,” she said.