The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Centre to withdraw the 2024 Waqf Amendment Bill, calling it “another attempt by the Union government to interfere in the religious administration of Muslims”, The Indian Express reported.

While moving the resolution, Chief Minister MK Stalin said that the proposed changes to the law “will severely affect the Muslim minorities”, The Hindu reported.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief accused the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government of “systematic discrimination” against minorities.

“Whether it is the Citizenship Amendment Act, the imposition of Hindi, financial discrimination against non-BJP states, or anti-social justice policies like NEET [National Eligibility cum Entrance Test] and NEP [National Education Policy] – every action of the Union government targets specific communities,” Stalin said.

“This law increases government control over waqf properties, undermines their autonomy and threatens the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution,” he added.

The chief minister said that Tamil Nadu had previously opposed the bill before the joint parliamentary committee but its concerns were ignored, leaving the state with no choice but to formally oppose it in the Assembly, The Indian Express reported.

A waqf is a property dedicated to a religious, educational or charitable cause under Islamic law. In India, waqfs are governed under the Waqf Act. Each state has a waqf board led by a legal entity that is vested with the power to acquire, hold and transfer property. The Act was last amended in 2013.

The 2024 bill proposed to amend 44 sections of the 1995 Waqf Act. The amendments propose to curb the authority of waqf boards, allow them to be controlled by the government to a greater degree, allow non-Muslims to be members of the boards, restrict the donation of properties and change how waqf tribunals function.

In August, the bill was referred to a parliamentary committee for scrutiny after objections from the Opposition and Muslim groups who maintain that it violates the right to freedom of religion and the freedom to manage religious affairs.

On January 29, the parliamentary committee adopted the revised bill after a vote, with 15 votes in favour of its draft report and 11 against. Two days earlier, it cleared the bill after accepting proposals from National Democratic Alliance members.

The amendments proposed by Opposition MPs were rejected.

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