Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge along with party leader Jairam Ramesh.
Credit: PTI photo
New Delhi: Hours after Parliament passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, Congress on Friday announced that it will “very soon” challenge the constitutional validity of the contentious legislation, which the party leadership has described as BJP's “deliberate strategy” to keep the society in a state of “permanent polarisation”.
The party said it will “continue to resist all assaults” of the Modi government on the principles, provisions, and practices that are contained in the Constitution, as it cited its legal fights against Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, amendments to Conduct of Election Rules (2024) and Places of Worship Act, 1991.
With Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge posting on ‘X’ that the Modi government has “set up a buffet system to occupy Waqf land and distribute it among its capitalist friend”, party General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh announced their plans to knock the apex court's doors against the Bill, which is likely to get the President's assent.
The Congress “will very soon be challenging in the Supreme Court the constitutionality of the Wakf (Amendment) Bill, 2024”, he said, hours after the Rajya Sabha cleared the Bill with a 128-92 vote on Friday early morning. Lok Sabha had passed the Bill on Thursday early morning with a 288-232 vote.
“The INC's challenge of the CAA, 2019 is being heard in the Supreme Court. The INC's challenge of the 2019 amendments to the RTI Act, 2005 is being heard in the Supreme Court. The INC’s challenge to the validity of the amendments to the Conduct of Election Rules (2024) is being heard in the Supreme Court. The INC's intervention to uphold the letter and spirit of the Places of Worship Act, 1991 is being heard in the Supreme Court,” he said.
Congress' announcement came a day after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK supremo M K Stalin announced in state Assembly that they will challenge before the Supreme Court the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill.
Kharge said, "The atmosphere in the country regarding the Waqf (Amendment) Bill is such that it feels like this bill has been brought to harass minorities. Late at night in the Lok Sabha, when this bill was passed, it received 288 votes in favour and 232 votes against. Why did this happen? This means there are many flaws in the bill."
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said the Bill is a "weapon aimed at marginalising" Muslims and "usurping" their personal laws and property rights. "This attack on the Constitution by the RSS, BJP and their allies is aimed at Muslims today but sets a precedent to target other communities in the future," he said adding the Congress strongly opposes it, as it attacks the very idea of India and violates the Right to Freedom of Religion.
Addressing a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party on Thursday, top Congress leader said, "the bill was in effect bulldozed through (in Lok Sabha). Our party’s position is clear. The Bill is a brazen assault on the Constitution itself. It is very much part of the BJP's deliberate strategy to keep our society in a state of permanent polarisation."