Congress to very soon challenge constitutionality of Waqf Bill in Supreme Court

New Delhi:A day after Parliament cleared the controversial Waqf legislation, the Congress on Friday said it will "very soon challenge" in the Supreme Court the constitutionality of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025. While the Opposition party said it will resist all "assaults" of the Modi government on the Constitution, a movement against the Waqf bill has already started. Protests erupted in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu and Congress MP Mohammad Jawed and AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi challenged the validity of the bill in the Supreme Court, saying it violates the constitutional provisions.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the passage of the Waqf bill, terming it a "watershed moment" in the country's collective quest for socio-economic justice, transparency and inclusive growth. He said this will particularly help those who have long remained on the margins, thus being denied both voice and opportunity.

In posts on X, Mr Modi said the Waqf system for decades was synonymous with lack of transparency and accountability, especially harming the interests of Muslim women, poor Muslims and Pasmanda Muslims. "The passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and the Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill by both Houses of Parliament marks a watershed moment in our collective quest for socio-economic justice, transparency and inclusive growth," he posted.

Mr Modi added that the legislations passed by Parliament will boost transparency and also safeguard people's rights and India will now enter an era where the framework will be more modern and sensitive to social justice.

"On a larger note, we remain committed to prioritising the dignity of every citizen. This is also how we build a stronger, more inclusive and more compassionate India," Mr Modi said.

The PM also thanked all the members of Parliament who participated in the parliamentary and committee discussions, voiced their perspectives and contributed to the strengthening of these legislations. He offered special thanks to the countless people who sent their valuable inputs to the parliamentary committee.

In a related development, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla chided former Congress president Sonia Gandhi over her remarks that the Waqf (Amendment) Bill was "bulldozed through".

The Speaker said that a senior member casting aspersions on the House proceedings is "most unfortunate" as well as against the dignity of parliamentary democracy. Without taking the name of Mrs Gandhi, who is a member of the Rajya Sabha, Mr Birla took a stern view on her remarks after parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju raised the issue and asked the Speaker to render a ruling on it. The BJP demanded an apology from Mrs Gandhi for her remarks and protested in both Houses.

Addressing party MPs at a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party in Samvidhan Sadan here on Thursday, Mrs Gandhi had said, "Yesterday, the Wakf Amendment Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha and today it is scheduled to come up in the Rajya Sabha. The bill was in effect bulldozed through. Our party's position is clear. The bill is a brazen assault on the Constitution itself. It is very much part of the BJP's deliberate strategy to keep our society in a state of permanent polarisation.

According to sources, the Congress party will wait for the gazette notification to see what all sections it wants to challenge. Meanwhile, Mr Jawed, the party’s Lok Sabha MP from Kishanganj in Bihar, filed a petition in the Supreme Court independently.

Mr Jawed, who was also a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the bill, has alleged in his plea that the proposed law "introduces restrictions on the creation of Waqfs based on the duration of one's religious practice".

In his separate plea, Mr Owaisi said the bill takes away from Waqfs various protections which were accorded to Waqfs and Hindu, Jain, and Sikh religious and charitable endowments alike.

Mr Owaisi's plea said: "This diminishing of the protection given to Waqfs while retaining them for religious and charitable endowments of other religions constitutes hostile discrimination against Muslims and is violative of Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution, which prohibit discrimination on the grounds of religion."

Meanwhile, in Kolkata, members of the minority community staged a protest demanding immediate withdrawal of the bill, saying the bill is a ploy by the BJP to divide the country.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also criticised the BJP for introducing the Waqf bill. She pledged that when a "new government is formed after ousting the current regime", she will bring an amendment to nullify the bill.

In Chennai, actor-politician Vijay-led Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam also staged state-wide demonstrations against the Waqf bill. Madurai, Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli, Thoothukudi and Thanjavur were among the cities that witnessed protests by the TVK.