Waqf law will put stop to 'land jihad', says Telangana BJP MLA

Hyderabad: The amended Waqf legislation will put a stop to "land jihad" in the country, BJP's Telangana MLA T Raja Singh has asserted.

Addressing a Ram Navami procession on Sunday, he claimed that "land jihadis" had been having a tough time since the formation of a "saffron government" in India.

"Those who used to put up a board (on a land parcel) in the name of 'land jihad' by issuing a Waqf notice, as if it was the property of their father, would no longer be able to install such boards because Prime Minister Narendra Modi has passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill," Singh said.

President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday gave her assent to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which was passed by Parliament last week after heated debates in both Houses, paving the way for it to become law.

When India became independent, the "Waqf board people" had 4,000 acres of land, Singh said. "How did they get 9,50,000 (9.5 lakh) acres?" The BJP lawmaker said Muslims should understand that the amended legislation would not take away their lands and referred to Modi "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas" slogan. Singh also claimed that All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi was the "biggest enemy of Muslims".

The Goshamahal MLA asserted that Owaisi approaching the Supreme Court against the amended Waqf law would have no impact.

In his plea in the top court, Owaisi said the legislation took away from Waqfs various protections accorded to Waqfs and Hindu, Jain and Sikh religious and charitable endowments alike.

Singh, on the other hand, claimed it was the demand of "every Hindu" that the nation be declared "Hindu Rashtra".

The Ram Navami procession led by Singh began in the afternoon and went on till late.

Police deployed about 20,000 personnel and made elaborate arrangements to ensure that Ram Navami processions passed of peacefully.

Hyderabad City Police Commissioner CV Anand monitored the situation through live drone and CCTV visuals and issued instructions to field officers, the police said in a release.

"With the cooperation of the Sri Ramanavami Shobha Yatra organisers, officials of other government departments, devotees, and the people of Hyderabad, the procession was completed peacefully. On behalf of our Hyderabad City Police, I thank everyone," the release quoted Anand as saying.