BJP, Opposition rush to claim victory over Waqf order

Within hours of the Supreme Court putting on hold key provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, both the BJP and the Congress rushed to claim victory, each portraying the verdict as vindication of its stand.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the ruling reaffirmed Parliament’s supremacy. He described the order as a “positive sign for democracy”, insisting that laws enacted by the legislature could not be casually set aside.

“The judgment shows that decisions of Parliament carry weight and cannot be rejected. The SC has, in a way, endorsed Parliament’s decision,” Rijiju said, adding the government would examine the stayed clauses before issuing rules, including the requirement for a person to be a practising Muslim for five years to dedicate property as Waqf.

The Congress, however, celebrated the same order as a direct rebuke to what it called the government’s attempt to grab land and weaken minority rights. Party leaders said the court had exposed the “mischievous intentions” behind the Act and given relief to those who feared harassment under the new provisions.

Party leader Jairam Ramesh said, “ The SC’s order today on the Waqf (Amendment) Act represents a substantial victory not just for the parties that opposed this arbitrary law but all the members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee who submitted detailed dissent notes, which were then ignored but now stand vindicated.”

Ramesh further said counsels for the Opposition parties had argued that the law would result in the creation of a structure where anyone and everyone could challenge the status of the property before the collector, and the status of the property would be in a limbo while in such litigation.

"Additionally, only a ‘Muslim’ practising for five years could donate to a Waqf. The intention behind these sections was always apparent -- to keep the voter base inflamed and create an administrative structure to indulge those seeking to foment religious disputes. With this order, the Supreme Court has stayed the powers of the collector; protected existing Waqf properties from dubious challenges and; stayed the provision requiring proof of being a Muslim for five years until such times as rules are framed,” Ramesh added.

"The Supreme Court, in its interim order, reaffirmed its resolve to protect the rights of minorities — a cause for which the Opposition stood united against the Modi government. The BJP had sought to bulldoze a divisive law, designed solely to inflame communal passions and reopen issues that India had long settled. The Congress stands firm in defending the rights of every citizen, without fear or favour, as guaranteed by our Constitution. The BJP, in contrast, thrives on dividing society for narrow electoral gains," Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said on X.

Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain also welcomed the interim order, saying: “From the very beginning, I, on behalf of the Congress, had cautioned the government against including the three clauses that have been stayed today. I had pointed out that giving the collector unbridled powers to entertain challenges, making someone prove they are a Muslim for five years (as a precondition for declaring their own property as Waqf), and skewing representation on the Waqf Board were wrong and constitutionally unsustainable. They undermined the autonomy of the Waqf Board and reduced the rights of the community, who are at the end of the day Indian citizens with the same constitutional and fundamental rights as anyone else. They also left the Waqf properties vulnerable to constant challenge by mischievous elements."