BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The BJP on Friday (April 4, 2025) said the Opposition may challenge the Waqf (Amendment) Bill passed in Parliament in court if they want, but they should refrain from indulging in “petty politics” of appeasement and “provoking” minority community members on the issue.
The BJP’s remarks came after the Congress said it will “very soon” challenge the constitutionality of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, passed in Parliament in the Supreme Court.
The main Opposition party also said it will continue to resist the Modi government’s “assaults” on the principles, provisions and practices enshrined in the Constitution.
“Some legal experts in the Congress are repeatedly saying that it (the Bill) is unconstitutional and they will approach the court. Let them go to court. Nobody is stopping them,” senior BJP leader and former Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters in Parliament complex.
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“They had gone to court on the issue of triple talaq. They also tried to stop the (construction of temple at) Ram Janmabhoomi. They even called (scrapping of) Article 370 unconstitutional,” Mr. Prasad said.
The Waqf Bill is “completely constitutional”, the BJP leader said, adding that the Constitution stipulates that the government can enact laws for the progress of women and the backward society.
The Bill seeks to ensure the welfare of Muslims, including women, he said.
“Given the mischief they do for vote bank politics, the country is not going to listen to them,” he added.
BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Dinesh Sharma said it is the duty of the Opposition parties to accept the Bill as it has been passed by Parliament, and refrain from “provoking” the minority community members on the issue.
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It is up to the Opposition to decide whether they want to approach the Supreme Court or take to the streets on the issue, the former deputy chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, he said.
“The Opposition should refrain from indulging in petty politics,” Mr. Sharma added.
Published – April 04, 2025 07:35 pm IST