CPI(M) party congress adopts resolution condemning Waqf bill passage

Madurai: The 24th party congress of the CPI(M) on Friday adopted a resolution condemning the passage of the Waqf bill and called on secular and democratic-minded citizens to unite and demand its withdrawal.

Parliament approved the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, early on Friday after the Rajya Sabha gave its nod to the contentious legislation following an over 13-hour debate.

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 on Thursday, with 288 members supporting it and 232 against it. The Bill is now awaiting the president's assent before it becomes law.

"This 24th congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) condemns the passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill by Parliament. This legislation is an assault on the Constitution and the rights of minorities," according to the resolution adopted by the CPI(M).

"The CPI(M) calls upon all secular people and organisations of the country to protest against this Act which will only increase communal polarisation and damage the secular fabric of the nation," the Left party said.

According to the resolution, the earlier law was a legal framework governing Waqf properties and ensuring their proper administration, protection and utilisation for religious and charitable purposes.

However, the amended legislation makes significant changes that will undermine the foundational principles laid out in the earlier legislation, the CPI(M) said.

"Through this amendment, the BJP government is pushing its Hindutva agenda, aiming to divide people. It has been repeatedly claiming that the earlier Act has been used for extensive land grab by Muslims," according to the resolution.

Despite Islamic injunctions prohibiting non-Muslims from managing Waqf properties, the amended legislation provides for including non-Muslims in Waqf boards, according to the resolution.

"This is an attack on the constitutional right of Muslims to practice their religion," the CPI(M) said.

By making it mandatory that only a Muslim who can prove that he or she has followed the religion for at least five years can donate land to Waqf boards, the amended legislation is opening the way for harassment of Muslims and can actually prevent them from creating or contributing to Waqf properties, it further said.

Many non-Muslims also contribute to building of mosques etc and this expression of brotherhood and fraternity will no longer be possible under the amended law, it added.

"Under the new amendments, the majority of Waqf properties in the country -- those declared orally or through usage -- will become vulnerable to government takeover," the CPI(M) said in the resolution.

Through the amended legislation, states such as Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala that have large Waqf holdings will face targeted appropriation of these assets, the Left party warned.

"By transferring the authority to determine Waqf properties from the survey commissioner to government-appointed revenue officials, the government aims to seize places of worship, educational institutions, healthcare facilities, and vocational centres, thereby consolidating control over Waqf assets," according to the resolution.

The CPI(M) said the new mandate requiring the registration of thousands of Waqf properties historically established through long-term usage exposed the government's covert agenda to confiscate them.

"Through these amendments, the central government is advancing its agenda of eradicating the rights of Muslims, mirroring the exclusionary intent of the Citizenship Amendment Act," the Left party added.

The CPI(M), in its resolution, called on all secular and democratic-minded citizens to unite to demand withdrawal of the proposed legislation.