The Congress on Friday said that it will soon challenge the constitutionality of the Waqf Amendment Bill in the Supreme Court.

“We are confident and will continue to resist all assaults of the Modi government on the principles, provisions, and practices that are contained in the Constitution of India,” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on social media.

On Friday, the Rajya Sabha passed the Waqf Bill, with 128 votes in favour and 95 against, following a 14-hour debate. The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha at around 2 am on Thursday with 288 votes in favour and 232 against. It now awaits the president’s assent.

Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said on Wednesday that the bill was an “attack on the Constitution by the RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh], BJP and their allies”.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is the parent organisation of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

“The Congress party strongly opposes this legislation as it attacks the very idea of India and violates Article 25, the Right to Freedom of Religion,” Gandhi had said.

Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain said in the Rajya Sabha that the bill was a “targeted legislation against the Muslim community” and that it intended to make Muslims “second-class citizens” of the country.

On Thursday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin criticised the passage of the Waqf Bill in the Lower House of Parliament, vowing that his state would “fight against the BJP government on the issue of Waqf properties and emerge victorious”, reported The Indian Express.

Stalin, who wore a black ribbon as a mark of protest, called the bill “an attack on the Constitution of India” and an “attempt to disturb communal harmony in the country”, adding that “the DMK [Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam] will challenge the bill in the Supreme Court”.

Speaking in the Assembly, Stalin said: “A majority of the political parties in India are opposed the Waqf Amendment Bill. It is condemnable that the bill has been passed in Lok Sabha despite widespread opposition to its provisions. Though the bill has been passed, nobody should overlook the number of votes against it.

Stalin asserted that the DMK would challenge the bill in the Supreme Court, accusing the BJP of introducing “a divisive agenda” that would “create unnecessary legal hurdles for waqf institutions” and “strip them of their rightful autonomy”.

The chief minister also criticised the Union government for attempting to interfere in the religious administration of Muslims, stating that the bill would give greater control to the government over waqf properties, undermining their autonomy, the newspaper reported.

A waqf is a property dedicated to a religious, educational or charitable cause under Islamic law. In India, waqfs are governed under the 1995 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 was aimed at amending 44 sections of the Waqf Act. The amendments will allow waqf boards 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.

Members of the DMK, along with its coalition partners, wore black badges in the Assembly to protest the bill, while BJP MLAs staged a walkout.

The main Opposition party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and others supported Stalin’s stance and called for the bill to be withdrawn, The Indian Express reported.

BJP’s Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai criticised the protest, alleging that “the DMK is staging a drama to save a portion of their minority vote bank”, the newspaper reported.