‘Muslims under attack for 11 years’: Owaisi vows to protest against Waqf law until it's rolled back

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has vowed to continue protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act until it is rolled back. The Hyderabad Member of Parliament accused the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government of ‘targeting’ the identity and rights of Muslims for 11 years.

Owaisi, emphasised that the opposition to the Act would mirror the earlier protests against the repealed farm laws.

"You (PM Narendra Modi) must take back this law. The way our farmer brothers have shown the path, we will continue to agitate in the same way. Until the law is withdrawn, there will be peaceful protests in the country," Owaisi said, addressing a public meeting organised on Saturday night by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) at the AIMIM headquarters in Hyderabad.

Farm Laws Withdrawn in 2021

On November 19, 2021, Prime Minister Modi, during his second term in power, announced the withdrawal of the three contentious farm laws. Farmers, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, had been protesting against these laws at the borders of Delhi for about a year.

Farmers opposed the laws alleging that it would end the minimum support price regime and leave them at the mercy of big corporations. These three laws were passed by the Parliament in September 2020. However, the implementation of these laws was stayed by the Supreme Court on January 12, 2021.

Waqf Act Challenged in Court

The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, that came into force earlier this month, has been challenged by a batch of petitions. The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha passed the bill during the recently concluded Budget Session of Parliament.

President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the proposed law on April 5.

On April 17, the Supreme Court of India granted the Centre a week's time to file a response to the petitions challenging the 2025 Act.

“Are you (gathering) ready for a long-drawn democratic battle? If you are ready, promise yourself that we will continue to protest till this black law is not withdrawn and we will not step back.”

Owaisi is one of the staunchest opponents of Waqf Law. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief slammed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill as unconstitutional and tore a copy of the bill in the Parliament as a mark of protest to oppose the amendment while speaking in Lok Sabha on April 3, hours before the Bill was passed.

The Centre also assured the court that no appointments will be made to the Waqf Council or Waqf Boards until then, and no non-Muslims will be included in the Central Waqf Council and Waqf Boards until the next hearing.

Modi attacking religious identity of Muslims: Owaisi

Referring to the triple talaq law, Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and religious conversion legislations in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states, Owaisi alleged that PM Modi has been attacking the religious identity of Muslims for the past 11 years.

"Now, in the name of Uniform Civil Code, he (Modi) wants to take away our Shariat from us," he said.

The AIMIM leader also claimed that the exclusion of the Dawoodi Bohras from the Waqf (Amendment) bill was a move to divide and weaken the Muslim community.

A delegation from the Dawoodi Bohra community met Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently to convey its gratitude for the Waqf Act, which it said had addressed several of the community's longstanding concerns.

(With PTI inputs)