TN Assembly passes resolution against Waqf Bill, BJP walks out

Tamil Nadu Assembly on Thursday passed a resolution urging the central Government to withdraw the proposed Waqf amendment bill. While moving the bill in the assembly, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said the Centre’s waqf bill was against the fundamental rights enshrined in the constitution and undermined the powers of the Waqf Board. The motion moved by CM MK Stalin stated that any elected government should work towards only protect the rights of the minorities and never endanger it.The bill was passed in the assembly with the Support of the main opposition AIADMK and PMK Parties, While the BJP members staged a walkout opposing the bill.  The Assembly unanimously insists that the Union Government should recall the Waqf Amendment Bill in 2024 for Waqf Act 1995, which will badly affect the minority Muslims to be withdrawn.
Later, speaking to media, BJP legislator and the National president of the BJP Mahila Morcha, Vanati Srinivasan said, the centre has the powers to bring any change the Waqf act. "I have put my questions before the Chief Minister. In Tamil Nadu, any municipality or any panchayat or corporation, whether they can bring any resolution of asking the state government to withdraw certain amendment or not to pass any act, so how the resolution can be passed like that here. We have opposed the resolution and walked out of the assembly," Srinivasan told reporters outside the state assembly.
Meanwhile, AIADMK National Spokesperson Kovai Sathyan said that it looks like the DMK is in a hurry to set a narrative based on religion and language. ?Why there is a rush to pass a resolution in the Assembly?...trying to instigate people...for vote bank politics is highly condemnable," Sathyan said.
The Waqf Act of 1995, enacted to regulate Waqf properties, has long been criticised for issues such as mismanagement, corruption, and encroachments. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, aims to address key challenges by introducing reforms such as digitisation, enhanced audits, improved transparency, and legal mechanisms to reclaim illegally occupied properties. The government has formed a Joint Parliamentary Committee to examine the Bill in consultation with experts and stakeholders