Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday strongly defended the recent amendments to the Waqf Act. He said the changes were necessary to undo the wrongs made by the Congress-led UPA government in 2013. According to him, the previous version of the law served the interests of land grabbers and extremists.
Modi links Waqf changes to land misuse and Partition
The Prime Minister accused the UPA of helping fundamentalists and land mafias through the 2013 amendments. He claimed these changes led to the wrongful capture of properties owned by the government, temples, churches, gurdwaras, and farmers. “The 2013 changes placed the interests of… land mafia above the Constitution and effectively shut out avenues for justice for their victims,” he said.
He also blamed these appeasement policies for contributing to the Partition of India. “Very few countries got their independence through partition. But it happened to India because politics was kept above national interest,” he added.
Modi praises Parliament for long debate on new law
While speaking at the “Rising Bharat Summit” hosted by News-18 Group, Modi said the new amendments passed after over 16 hours of discussion in Parliament. He called it the second-longest debate in the country’s history. He stressed that lawmakers passed the law through proper democratic processes.
Public participation played a role
The Prime Minister pointed out that over one crore people gave their opinions to the Joint Parliamentary Committee during the process. “Democracy is no longer contained within the four walls of Parliament; it is strengthened with the participation of the people,” he said.
New law aims to support ordinary Muslims
Modi said the amended Waqf Act would protect the rights of common Muslims, especially the backward Pasmanda community. He explained that the old law allowed properties to be declared as waqf without allowing civil court challenges. This, he said, created fear and misused legal protection.
“The law was meant to be an instrument of justice but it became a source of fear instead and gave rise to a false sense that it was above the Constitution,” Modi said. He claimed the new version of the Act would stop such misuse and bring justice.
PM slams Congress for neglecting Below Average Income Muslims
Modi argued that Congress used waqf-related issues to gain political power. He said only a few radical leaders benefitted while ordinary Muslims, especially the below , remained neglected. “But, the question is what benefits did the ordinary Muslims get? What did the deprived Pasmanda Muslims get? They were only subjected to neglect. They did not get education, they faced unemployment and Muslim women faced injustice like Shah Bano, where their constitutional rights were sacrificed at the altar of fundamentalism,” he said.
Government prepares to respond in court
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has agreed to set a date to hear the petitions filed against the new Waqf law. In response, the central government has filed a caveat, asking the court to hear its side before giving any ruling.
