Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday hailed the introduction of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, in the Lok Sabha, calling the proposed legislation a progressive step that reflects the word “secular” mentioned in the Constitution’s preamble.
Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde also came out in support of the bill and stressed it was in the best interest of the Muslim community.
Talking to reporters here, Fadnavis expressed confidence that the bill, tabled in the Lok Sabha by Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday for discussion and passage, will eventually get Parliament’s nod.
The bill seeks to improve the functioning of Waqf properties (which refer to properties dedicated exclusively for religious or charitable purposes under Islamic law), address complexities, ensure transparency and introduce technology-driven management.
“The bill doesn’t hurt religious faith or sentiment of any community. It only corrects the wrongdoings of the past. Women will get representation on the Waqf Board (proposed under the bill). Any wrongdoing in the board couldn’t be challenged (under existing law) in courts. This provision has been removed,” the BJP leader noted.
Fadnavis maintained that under the existing Waqf Act, lands were taken over by the board and then by Congress leaders.
The bill aims to stop this “loot”, he emphasised.
The CM said it is foolish to say that industrialists will benefit from the proposed law and dismissed its critics as “sycophants” who want to play appeasement politics.
“Those whose conscience is alive will support the bill. If the Shiv Sena (UBT) still follows Balasaheb Thackeray’s ideals, they will support the bill,” Fadnavis contended.
Deputy Chief Minister Shinde, a BJP ally, attacked the rival Shiv Sena (UBT) over the Waqf Bill, accusing it of engaging in vote-bank politics and claimed it was now operating under Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s influence.
Addressing the media after reviewing the state government’s 100-day action plan, Shinde said the bill was in the best interest of the Muslim community.
“It paves the way for their holistic development, and I urge the community to support it. The Sena (UBT) has strayed from Balasaheb Thackeray’s ideology and is now operating under Rahul Gandhi’s influence,” he claimed.
On the contrary, the ruling Shiv Sena takes its decisions openly and independently, and does not engage in politics of convenience, Shinde insisted.
“The true faces of those engaging in vote-bank politics for Muslim votes have been exposed through their stance on the Waqf Bill,” he argued.
Without naming the opposition Sena (UBT), Shinde maintained the Uddhav Thackeray-led party’s current plight is because of “convenient” stand it has taken on key issues and due to this it faced reverses in the last year’s assembly polls in Maharashtra.
“The Shiv Sena’s stand is very clear. We are not doing politics of convenience. We take decisions openly,” the Deputy Chief Minister emphasised.
Instead of keeping Waqf properties in the control of a handful of people (under the existing Act), they can be used for the majority of people (if the proposed legislation comes into force). Colleges, schools and hospitals should come up on donated lands, Shinde said.
Currently, such properties are misused, he maintained and asked, “Is there any control of anyone on the Waqf land?” However, the Congress in Maharashtra hit out at the BJP-led government at the Centre over the bill.
State Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal alleged the government wants to hand over land to industrialists and builders under the garb of the proposed legislation.
Addressing a press conference here, Sapkal pointed out that special land rights had been established during the drafting of the Constitution.
Land has been allotted to temples, places of worship, and inam (gifted) lands have been granted. In Maharashtra, even the descendants of Chhatrapatis (Maratha rulers) have been given special land rights, noted the Congress leader.
In a country with a large landless population, Gandhian and social reformer Acharya Vinoba Bhave launched the ‘Bhoodan’ movement, collecting thousands of acres of land and distributing them to the poor, he said.
First Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru introduced tenancy laws under the principle of “land to the tiller,” followed by the Ceiling Act. Former PM Indira Gandhi took decisive steps to distribute land ownership, and under the Congress-led UPA government (2004-14), tribal communities were granted rights over forest lands, Sapkal noted.
However, the BJP-led NDA government is now viewing the Waqf Bill through religious lens and seems to be planning to take over donated properties and hand them over to industrialists and builders, he alleged.
“They have already handed over Dharavi’s land to Adani, and under the pretext of the Shakti Peeth Corridor, attempts are being made to allocate Konkan land to Adani and Ambani. This (Waqf Bill) appears to be a similar ploy,” Sapkal claimed.
