BJP hails SC order on Waqf law, calls it ‘tight slap’ on politics of fear

The BJP on Monday welcomed the Supreme Courtrsquos verdict on the Waqf Amendment Act 2025 describing it as a ldquotight slaprdquo on those questioning the lawrsquos constitutionality and indulging in ldquopolitics of fearrdquoThe apex court stayed a few key provisions of the amended law mdash including the clause that only those practising Islam for the past five years could create a waqf mdash but refused to halt the entire Act citing the presumption of constitutionalityldquoCertainly itrsquos a welcome decision The double bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai has accepted the amendments brought by the government and rejected the petition against it There is no stay on the entire operation of the amendmentsrdquo BJP national spokesperson Nalin Kohli told PTIldquoThe stay is only with respect to one or two areas where the court felt there may be an arbitrary exercise of powers say by a district magistrate because it was not defined in terms of what would be the mechanismrdquo he addedKohli said the ruling sends a clear message to those ldquoplaying politics of fearrdquo that the governmentrsquos move was ldquoconstitutionally correctrdquoBJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya in a post on X said the ldquodraconian conceptrdquo of Waqf by User had been consigned to the ldquodustbin of historyrdquo Quoting from the courtrsquos order he said ldquoIn the totality of the circumstances we do not find that any case is made out to stay the provisions of the entire statute The prayer for stay of the impugned Act is therefore rejectedrdquoAnother BJP spokesperson Prem Shukla said the verdict was a ldquotight slaprdquo on those spreading misinformation ldquotill yesterdayrdquo that the amendments were unconstitutional ldquoThe Supreme Court has not only held it constitutional but also rejected most of the demands of the petitionersrdquo he assertedParty leader and former Union minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain said the decision had ldquodisappointedrdquo those challenging the law ldquoThe court has not put a stay on the Act Some of its provisions have been put on hold But overall the court has accepted the Actrdquo he saidIn its 128page verdict a bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih reiterated that parliamentary enactments enjoy a strong presumption of constitutionality It said laws should be stayed only in ldquorare and exceptionalrdquo cases where provisions are ldquoex facie unconstitutional manifestly arbitrary and violate fundamental rightsrdquoThe provisions put on hold will remain suspended till the court delivers its final ruling on the validity of the Waqf Amendment Act 2025With PTI inputs