Union Home Minister Amit Shah made it clear on Friday that the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which was referred to a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) in August 2024, will be reintroduced in the current session of Parliament.
Only four working days are left for the ongoing budget session to come to an end on April 4.
"We will introduce the Waqf Bill in Parliament within this session," Shah said at the Times Now Summit 2025.
He said no one should be afraid of the proposed legislation as the Narendra Modi government is amending the Waqf Act in accordance with the ambit of the Constitution.
"The Opposition is misleading Muslims. No rights of Muslims will be curbed. They are just telling lies after lies," he said.
The home minister said the government had to bring the amendment bill to the existing law as the original legislation was enacted due to the politics of appeasement.
He claimed that the Congress had made rules in the Waqf Act that were not in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution.
"We have aligned the Waqf Bill within the ambit of the Constitution, while the Congress had twisted the law for its political advantage," he said.
Shah said the BJP-led NDA government is working in a way that the legislation can be challenged in courts.
"A Bill cannot be above the spirit of the Constitution. We are making it in such a way that its decisions can be challenged in courts. Even government orders are challenged in courts. Laws enacted by us like the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) were also challenged in courts. Parliament's decision to scrap Article 370 (of the Constitution) was also challenged," he said.
Shah said the Waqf Board has declared 123 prime locations in Delhi as Waqf properties and the historic Chandrashekhar Azad Park in Prayagraj, where Azad sacrificed his life, has also been declared a Waqf property.
He said according to the existing law, enacted by the Congress, these decisions could not even be challenged in courts.
On the protests against the Bill, the home minister said everyone has a right to protest and any dispute can be challenged in courts.
"They are free to protest. If the Bill is not within the ambit of the Constitution, it can be challenged in courts," he said.
The Union Cabinet recently approved the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, incorporating the changes recommended by the JPC, paving the way for it to be tabled in Parliament for a discussion and passage.
The Bill was referred to the JPC in August 2024, after it was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju.
The parliamentary panel adopted the report with a majority vote, while all 11 MPs from opposition parties in the panel had objected to it.
They had also moved dissent notes. The 655-page report was submitted to both Houses of Parliament earlier this month.
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