"You are imposing your ideology on the country": Owaisi urges PM Modi to reconsider Waqf Act

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], April 13 (ANI): All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reconsider the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, saying that the law goes against the Constitution of India and imposes a specific ideology on the nation.
"We are appealing to the Prime Minister to please reconsider this Act. You are making a law that is against the Constitution of India, and you are imposing your ideology on the country," Owaisi said during a press conference.
He emphasised that the government should be guided by Indian nationalism and constitutional values, not ideological preferences. "Your ideology should be Indian nationalism and the Constitution," he added.
Owaisi also questioned the government's approach toward religious communities, claiming that the law discriminates against Muslims.
"How can something that is good for Hindu and Sikh communities be considered bad for Muslims?" he asked.
Announcing a protest against the Act earlier in the day, Owaisi said a public meeting would be held on April 19 from 7 PM to 10 PM at Darussalam in Hyderabad. "The All India Muslim Personal Law Board is organising a protest public meeting against the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025. It will be presided over by the Board's President, Khalid Saifullah Rahmani," he said.
Owaisi added that members of the Muslim Personal Law Boards of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, along with major Muslim organisations from both states, would participate in the protest and address the public.
"They will tell the public through their speeches that this Waqf (Amendment) Act is not in favour of Waqf. We are also trying to talk to the members of the Waqf Committee, and if their schedules permit, they may join the meeting," he said.
The Rajya Sabha passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, on April 4 with 128 votes in favour and 95 against. The Lok Sabha had earlier cleared the Bill following a lengthy debate, with 288 members voting in favour and 232 opposing it.
President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the Bill on April 5, making it a law.
Among those who have moved the court against the Waqf (Amendment) Act are AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi, Congress MPs Mohammad Jawed and Imran Pratapgarhi, AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan, and Azad Samaj Party chief and MP Chandra Shekhar Azad.
Others include Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal Zia Ur Rehman Barq; Maulana Arshad Madani, President of Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind; the Kerala-based Sunni scholars' body Samastha Kerala Jamiatul Ulema; the Social Democratic Party of India; the Indian Union Muslim League; and the NGO Association for Protection of Civil Rights.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has also challenged the Act, saying it strongly objected to the amendments passed by Parliament for being "arbitrary, discriminatory and based on exclusion."
Rajya Sabha MPs Manoj Jha and Faiyaz Ahmad from Bihar's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) have also challenged the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, arguing that it facilitates large-scale government interference in Muslim religious endowments. RJD MLA from Bihar Muhammad Izhar Asfi also challenged the Act.
Tamil Nadu's ruling party DMK has also joined the legal challenge. Its MP A Raja, who was a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf Bill, has approached the apex court.
Intervention applications have been filed in the Supreme Court in support of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, stating that the amendments are in consonance with the scheme of the Constitution of India, and that there is no violation of any right of any member of the Muslim community.
The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, seeks to focus on improving the management of waqf properties, empowering relevant stakeholders, improving the efficiency of survey, registration, and case disposal processes, and developing waqf properties. (ANI)