‘Didn't Take Long For RSS To Turn Attention To...’: Rahul Gandhi Alleges Targeting Of Communities After Waqf Bill

New Delhi, Apr 5 (PTI) Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday alleged the "Waqf Bill attacks Muslims" and "sets a precedent to target other communities in future".

In a post on microblogging site X, Gandhi shared an article which claimed that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has now shifted focus to Catholic Church land after the passage of Waqf Bill.

"I had said that the Waqf Bill attacks Muslims now but sets a precedent to target other communities in the future," he wrote on X.

"It didn't take long for the RSS to turn its attention to Christians," the Congress leader wrote referring to the article.

"The Constitution is the only shield that protects our people from such attacks -- and it is our collective duty to defend it," Gandhi wrote.

Congress leader KC Venugopal too shared another article pointing to Catholic Church surpassing Waqf Board in landholdings and said, "As predicted, first one minority targeted, now onto the next."

AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan moves SC against Waqf Bill

(PTI) Aam Aadmi Party MLA Amanatullah Khan has moved the Supreme Court, challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025.

In his plea, Khan sought that the Waqf (Amendment) Bill be declared as "unconstitutional and being violative of Articles 14, 15, 21, 25, 26, 29, 30 and 300-A of the Constitution" and sought direction for striking it down.

"The Bill violates fundamental rights enshrined under Articles 14, 15, 21, 25, 26, 29, 30, and 300-A of the Constitution. It curtails the religious and cultural autonomy of Muslims, enables arbitrary executive interference, and undermines minority rights to manage their religious and charitable institutions," Khan's plea said.

On Friday, Congress MP Mohammad Jawed and AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi moved the apex court, challenging the validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, saying it violated the constitutional provisions.

Jawed's plea alleged the Bill imposed "arbitrary restrictions" on Waqf properties and their management, undermining the religious autonomy of the Muslim community.

The petition, filed through advocate Anas Tanwir, said the proposed law discriminated against the Muslim community by "imposing restrictions that are not present in the governance of other religious endowments".

The Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha with 128 members voting in favour and 95 opposing it. It was passed in the Lok Sabha early April 3 with 288 members supporting it and 232 against it.

Jawed, a Lok Sabha MP from Kishanganj in Bihar, was a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Bill and has alleged in his plea that the Bill "introduces restrictions on the creation of Waqfs based on the duration of one's religious practice".

"Such a limitation is unfounded in Islamic law, custom or precedent and infringes upon the fundamental right to profess and practice religion under Article 25," it said.

In his separate plea, Owaisi said the Bill takes away from Waqfs various protections which were accorded to Waqfs and Hindu, Jain, and Sikh religious and charitable endowments alike.

Owaisi's plea, filed by advocate Lzafeer Ahmad, said, "This diminishing of the protection given to Waqfs while retaining them for religious and charitable endowments of other religions constitutes hostile discrimination against Muslims and is violative of Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution, which prohibit discrimination on the grounds of religion." The plea argued the amendments "irreversibly dilute" the statutory protections afforded to Waqfs and their regulatory framework while giving "undue advantage" to other stakeholders and interest groups, undermining years of progress and pushing back Waqf management by several decades.

"Appointing non-Muslims on the Central Waqf Council and the State Waqf Boards disturbs this delicate constitutional balance and tilts it to the detriment of the right of Muslims as a religious group to remain in control of their Waqf properties," Owaisi said.

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)

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