BJP's 'mischievous plan' put on hold, says Congress

NEW DELHI: Welcoming SC's negative vote on three key provisions of the Waqf Act as putting a hold on BJP's "mischievous intentions", Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge accused the governing party of bulldozing a "divisive law" to inflame communal passions and "reopen issues that India had long settled". Calling the upholding of deletion of "waqf by user" a setback, the party underlined that the SC order is only an interim order, and it will continue its efforts to convince the court about the questionable aspects of the law.

Kharge and MP Syed Naseer Hussain, who led the party charge in the JPC that vetted the bill, said SC has reaffirmed its resolve to protect the rights of minorities for which the opposition took a united stand against Modi govt.

Congress members said the three clauses - giving the collector unbridled powers to entertain challenges, making a person prove they are a Muslim for five years to declare their property as Waqf and "skewing representation on the Waqf Board" - were constitutionally unsustainable, as they would have created a structure where anyone could challenge before the collector, and put in limbo, the status of a Waqf property. "They undermined the autonomy of the Waqf Board, and reduced the rights of the community, who are at the end of the day Indian citizens," Hussain said.

Congress MP and lawyer Abhishek Singhvi said, "Substantial and significant issues which were problematic have been stayed. Nobody sought a stay of the Act. The one success which we wanted but did not get is waqf-by-user. It could be counted as a setback in interim, but we will continue to argue for it in future hearings." CPI MP Sandosh Kumar said the Act's controversial provisions were a BJP plan to "stigmatise" the community, deepen divisions and open the way for arbitrary takeover of Waqf assets.