Congress to petition SC against Waqf Act 2025
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, April 13 2025: Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) would be approaching the Supreme Court of Indian against the Waqf Amendment Act, 2025, CLP leader O Ibobi has stated.

Speaking to newspersons at Manipur Press Club here on Sunday, Ibobi pointed out that India as a secular country allows the citizens to practice a religion of their choice independently.

However, under BJP government, the Constitution seems to be under attack continuously.

Despite objection by Congress party president Malikarjun Kharge and leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi, the Bill was forcefully passed in both the upper and lower houses.

Congress to petition SC against Waqf Act 2025

However, Congress will not stand by and watch, he affirmed, adding that it would fight the matter legally.

He continued that the Congress would be challenging the matter at the national level for which the party's state unit would be consulting legal experts to fight the Act in the Supreme Court.

For this, ex-MLAs Md Fazur Rahman and Amin Shah would be representing the matter and leaving for Delhi to approach the apex court by Tuesday or Wednesday.

Stating that Congress would not accept the attempts to create disharmony amongst the people in NDA-ruled states, Ibobi said that it is the responsibility of the party to uphold and protect the Constitution and ensure harmony and peace amongst the people.

The senior Congress leader also questioned the imposition of President's rule in the state and wondered why the BJP was not forming the government despite having sufficient numbers to do so.

"We are not in favour of President's rule in Manipur.

A democratic government is represented by the legislators.

Imposing President's rule shows they could not rule the state and are not capable of upholding law and order.

Even now, they (BJP) have sufficient numbers to form a government.

But we don't know why this has not been allowed," he added.

He also urged the Kuki community to reconsider its opposition to the annual pilgrimage of Meeteis to the Thangjing hills in Churachandpur district.

"Whether Kuki, Naga, Muslim or Meetei, we have been living together in Manipur since time immemorial.

I would like to appeal to the Kuki community to reconsider its opposition to the annual pilgrimage to Thangjing hills.

One day or the other, we will have to live together.

We are all Manipuris.

We are not in favour of illegal immigrants.

But indigenous people have to live together," he said.

His appeal came in the wake of at least six Kuki bodies opposing the Meetei community's annual pilgrimage to Thangjing hills.

Chipping in, MPCC president Keisham Meghachandra said that the Waqf Amendment Act 2025 is illegal and unconstitutional, and violates the fundamental rights.

The Waqf Act allows non-Muslims to join the Board and deprive the Board of any ownership over donated land.

This grossly interferes with the provision of Article 13, thereby denying the rights of a particular community.

BJP is attacking the secularism of the Constitution, which in turn is attacking all the minority communities in the government.

AICC strongly opposes such acts, he said, and demanded that the Act be repealed, while reiterating that the party would challenge the Act in the court of law.

Mentioning that NDA allies such as JD-U and NPP did not opposed passing of the Waqf Amendment Bill to an Act when it was proposed in the parliament, he equated the two parties' current opposition to act of cowardice.