The Opposition Congress on Friday vowed to continue resisting the Narendra Modi government’s “assaults” on the Constitution’s principles, provisions, and practices and said it would challenge the Wakf (Amendment) Bill’s constitutionality in the Supreme Court hours after the proposed legislation providing for sweeping changes in regulating and managing Islamic charitable endowments was passed in the Rajya Sabha.
“We are confident and will continue to resist all assaults of the Modi Govt on the principles, provisions, and practices that are contained in the Constitution of India,” said Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on X. He cited a series of laws the Congress has challenged in the court including the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, or CAA.
Ramesh noted the challenge to CAA, the 2019 amendments to the Right to Information Act, 2005, the validity of the amendments to the Conduct of Election Rules (2024), and intervention to uphold the letter and spirit of the Places of Worship Act, 1991, were being heard in the Supreme Court.
Rajya Sabha passed the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill after a marathon debate and a face-off between the government and the Opposition, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailing the passage “a watershed moment” in the “collective quest for socio-economic justice, transparency and inclusive growth”.
The bill was passed this week in the Lok Sabha after a 12-hour debate with 288 votes in favour and 232 against.
{{/usCountry}}The bill was passed this week in the Lok Sabha after a 12-hour debate with 288 votes in favour and 232 against.
{{/usCountry}}During the debate on the bill in Rajya Sabha, Opposition leader and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of trying to snatch the rights of minorities.
A waqf is a Muslim religious endowment, usually in the form of landed property, made for charity and community welfare. The bill provides for scrapping the waqf by user provision under which a property is acknowledged as a waqf because it has been used for religious activities for some time despite no official declaration or registration. It allows only a person “showing or demonstrating that he is practising Islam for at least five years” to donate properties to waqf.