BJP welcomes SC’s Waqf ruling, Congress says decision protect the rights of minorities

After the Supreme Court on Monday declined to stay the entire Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, noting that presumption is always in favour of the constitutionality of a law passed by the legislature, BJP leaders praised the ruling, saying it aligns with the law’s goals of welfare and administrative reforms while Congress said that the apex court reaffirmed its resolve to protect the rights of minorities — a cause for which the Opposition stood united against the Modi government.

On SC’s order in the Waqf Amendment Act, BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that the court has the right to scrutinise any law of Parliament, and the government has presented its side.

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Naqvi slammed the alleged corruption and mismanagement of the Waqf properties by the State Waqf Board and said, “Unfortunately, the corrupt lobby wants a license to loot…That is why they are trying to create uproar, commotion and imaginary illusions. They are people who made the whole system of Waqf ‘touch me not’… They want a formula of communal entry or no entry in this secular country. No one from another religion can become a part of this administrative law… No kind of communal attack should be accepted on this.”

He said the order of the apex court favours the improvement in the entire Waqf system and “purely for the protection of faith and reform of order”.

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju who also holds the Minority Affairs portfolio, said that the Supreme Court’s decision reflects the trust in our institutions, as he called the Supreme Court’s verdict a “good sign for our democracy.”

He said, “The case was presented in great detail. On behalf of the government, our solicitor general has presented in detail the provisions of the Act and its intention and the government’s thinking, in the Supreme Court and I believe that whatever the Supreme Court bench has decided is a very good sign for our democracy, because when any law is made in the Parliament, it cannot be reject and this is what the Supreme Court has approved today… I am satisfied with the judgment of the Supreme Court, and because it is the highest court of the country, whenever any decision comes from the Supreme Court, it has an impact, and in a way, the decision of the Parliament of India has been upheld.”

Reflecting upon the stay on the provision that a person should be a practitioner of Islam for at least 5 years till rules are framed by State Governments to provide mechanism to determine this question, Rijiju said, “We will see the case of a practising Muslim and what should be included in the rules”.

MLC and former Minister of State Mohsin Raza welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court stating that the Modi government makes decisions for the public welfare.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the ruling represents a substantial victory not just for the parties that opposed this arbitrary law in Parliament but all those members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee who submitted detailed dissent notes which were then ignored but now stand vindicated.

“We welcome this order as a win for the constitutional values of justice, equality, and fraternity,” Ramesh said.

The Congress leader emphasized that the opposition parties had argued that the law would create a structure where anyone could challenge the status of Waqf properties, keeping them in limbo during litigation.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge hailed the Supreme Court’s interim order as a reaffirmation of the court’s commitment to protecting minority rights.

“The Hon’ble Supreme Court, in its interim order today, reaffirmed its resolve to protect the rights of minorities — a cause for which the Opposition stood united against the Modi Govt,” Kharge said in a post on handle X.

Kharge emphasized that the opposition parties had come together to defend minority rights against the government’s attempt to push through a divisive law. “The BJP had sought to bulldoze a divisive law, designed solely to inflame communal passions and reopen issues that India had long settled,” he alleged.

Muslim bodies welcome the stay on certain controversial provisions

Chairman of the Islamic Center of India Khalid Rashid Firangi welcomed the stay on the requirement of being a practising Muslim for five years. He said, “Today the SC in its interim order has not given a complete stay on the Act but has stayed certain provisions, and we welcome those provisions, especially Sections 3 and 4, and the requirement of being a practising Muslim for five years.”

He said that his demand is that there must be a stay on the entire Act but the court has not given such an order.

“However, the Court has stayed many provisions, and we welcome the stay on certain provisions, such as a person who wants to make a Waqf should be a practising Muslim for at least 5 years,” he added.

Khalid said that the court has also clarified that the CEO must be from the Muslim community, and the overriding powers given to the District Collector for deciding whether a property is a Waqf or not have also been stayed.

The stay on Sections 3 and 4 is a very welcome step, and we expect that whenever the final decision comes, we will be given 100% relief, Khalid stated.

SC did not stay the provision allowing a non-Muslim to be the CEO of the State Waqf Board. The court, however, said that as far as possible, a Muslim person should be appointed.

Reacting on the same, Uttar Pradesh Minister OP Rajbhar said, “Supreme Court has permitted the inclusion of three other non-Muslim individuals in it… the Supreme Court’s decision will be respected… the government was also saying the same thing that people from other communities should also be in that committee.”