Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK patriarch MK Stalin Thursday said that his party will move the Supreme Court, challenging the Waqf Bill passed in the Lok Sabha during the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday.
Stalin took a strong exception to the passage of the Waqf Bill and said his party would file a case in the Supreme Court against it. The CM, who came to the Assembly wearing a black badge to protest against the passing of the Bill, said adopting the amendment at 2 am "at the behest of a few allies" despite the opposition of the majority parties in India, "is an attack on the structure of the Constitution."
"This is an act that disturbs religious harmony. To highlight this, we are participating in today's Assembly proceedings wearing black badges," the chief minister told the House.
"I would like to inform you that a case will be filed in the Supreme Court on behalf of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) against this controversial amendment. Tamil Nadu will fight against the Union government's law, which destroys the autonomy of the Waqf Board and threatens the minority Muslim population," Stalin said amidst thumping of the desk by the treasury benches.
He pointed out that the state Assembly had already passed a resolution on March 27, against the proposed amendment as it would seriously affect the religious harmony of India, besides the minority Muslim community. The resolution passed by this House was unanimously passed barring the support of the BJP legislators.
He said it was highly condemnable that the amendment of the Waqf Act had been passed in the Lok Sabha despite 232 MPs voting against it and this was not an ordinary number, and the number may increase. Only 288 members voted in its favour, he added.
On Wednesday, Stalin wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging the Centre to withdraw the proposed Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 in toto.
Stalin said "The State of Tamil Nadu is in the forefront of protection of the rights of Minorities, who live in harmony and religious amity in the State. The Constitution of India grants every citizen the right to follow their respective religions and it is the duty of the elected Governments to uphold and protect this right. However, the proposed amendments to the Waqf Act, 1995 have not taken into consideration the constitutional protection given to Minorities and are bound to severely harm the interest of Muslim community."
While proposing the government resolution in the Assembly on Thursday (March 27, 2025), Stalin said, "any government that rules this country should bear in mind the communal harmony that prevails amid the diversity of race, languages, religions, places of worship and cultures. This should be its guiding principle".
Read More
