Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Apr 5: The Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday reiterated that the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which was passed by both Houses of Parliament and will now be awaiting the President’s assent, was a tool for “attacking Muslims” and “sets a precedent to target other communities in the future” as well.
Mr Gandhi substantiated his attack on the BJP government with an article in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) mouthpiece “Organiser” which reportedly quoted facts and figures to claim that the Christian churches in the country owned even more lands than the combined holding of all Waqfs boards.
In a post on microblogging site X, Gandhi shared the article and claimed that the saffron party has now shifted its focus to Catholic Church land after the passage of Waqf Bill. However, soon after Mr Gandhi’s post, the “Organiser” took down the article from its website, sources said.
“I had said the Waqf Bill attacks Muslims now but sets a precedent to target other communities in the future. It didn’t take long for the RSS to turn its attention to Christians,” the Congress leader wrote, referring to the article. “The Constitution is the only shield that protects our people from such attacks — and it is our collective duty to defend it,” Gandhi wrote.
Congress leader KC Venugopal too shared another article pointing to Catholic Church surpassing Waqf Board in landholdings and said, “As predicted, first one minority targeted, now onto the next.”
On Friday, Congress MP Mohammad Jawed moved the Supreme Court challenging the validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, claiming it violated Constitutional provisions. Several more similar petitions haven been filed in the Supreme Court in the last couple of days while the Congress has said it too would challenge the move once it was gazetted by the government.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to alter the functioning of the Waqf board and properties, was passed in the Rajya Sabha on Friday with 128 votes in favour and 95 opposing it, following a 13-hour debate going past midnight. It was cleared in the Lok Sabha the previous day by 288-232 votes after a 12-hour debate.
Congress has vociferously slammed the Waqf Bill as “unconstitutional” and “anti-democratic”, arguing that the government was interfering with the personal matters of India’s religious minorities. The Congress also opposed the appointment of non-Muslims in the Waqf Board.
When the bill was cleared by the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi said, “The Waqf (Amendment) Bill is a weapon aimed at marginalising Muslims and usurping their personal laws and property rights. This attack on the Constitution by the RSS, BJP and their allies is aimed at Muslims today but sets a precedent to target other communities in the future.”
After the bill cleared the Parliament test, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had hailed it as a “watershed moment” saying that this step would help the marginalised, who have been “denied both voice and opportunity.”
The Waqf Amendment Bill proposes an amendment to the 1995 Act with the goal of improving the administration and management of Waqf properties in India. It aims to address the limitations of the earlier legislation, improve the efficiency of Waqf boards, simplify the registration process, and introduce technology to better manage Waqf records.
