Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya stated that the passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025 in Lok Sabha heralded a “new dawn” for India and especially the Muslim community.
“It was a long pending reform. An institution that was opaque, corrupt and unaccountable has now been rationalised. This is truly a new dawn for India, especially the Muslim community,” said Surya, after the bill was passed in the Lok Sabha past midnight.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025, amending the 1995 Waqf Act, was debated in the Lok Sabha for more than 13 hours (past midnight) on Wednesday, before it was finally put to vote. Speaker Om Birla announced that 288 had voted in favour of the bill and 232 against it, while all amendments proposed by the opposition were defeated.
Earlier, while participating in the debate, Surya said the Congress Party, through its Waqf legislations in 1954 and 1995 and the 2013 Amendment, had created a “Frankenstein’s monster” that was draconian and more powerful than an elected government and judiciary combined.
“Congress played a constitutional fraud on the country which is being corrected now by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Section 40 and Waqf by user in the Waqf Act, combined with Section 5 and 6 on surveying of Waqf properties, was a potent cocktail that enabled the Waqf Board to usurp any land it wished,” he said. After the 2013 amendment, the Waqf Board became the petitioner, judge, jury and also the executioner,” said Surya.
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He further stated that the aggrieved party were forced to go before the Waqf Tribunal. “This Waqf tribunal was a kangaroo court and its orders were final and you couldn't even go on appeal," he said. "On top of this, you had the Limitation Act, where the aggrieved party was given only one year to go before the Waqf tribunal, whose order was final. But on the other hand, the Waqf Board was not bound by the Limitation Act. Even after 500 years or 1,000 years the Board could go and start a claim,” added Surya.
Highlighting Karnataka's situation, Surya said the Waqf Board had extended its claims over Anubhava Mantapa, which is regarded as the first Parliament of spiritual democracy established in the 12th century by the revered social reformer Basavanna.
“The Waqf Board has laid claims on 15,000 acres of land belonging to poor farmers in Vijayapura district and ASI-protected monuments,” he added.
