BJP leader and Chairperson of the Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board, Dr. Darakhshan Andrabi, has expressed strong support for the newly passed Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, stating that it will lead to the development and progress of Waqf Boards across the country.
Speaking to ANI, Andrabi said, “When the government brings a bill and it is passed in Parliament, no one can stop it. These amendments are always meant for development and for the good… Waqf Boards across the country will progress with this Act.”
Taking aim at the National Conference (NC), she accused the party of consistently betraying public trust. “When has the National Conference not cheated the people? They are doing the same even today. Had they done the work they were given, people would be applauding them today,” she remarked.
Despite her endorsement, the Waqf Amendment Act has sparked widespread protests in several parts of the country, including Delhi, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. Political and religious leaders—among them Congress MPs Imran Pratapgarhi and Mohammad Jawed, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi, and Maulana Arshad Madani, President of Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind—have challenged the validity of the Act in the Supreme Court.
Tensions escalated in Murshidabad district, West Bengal, earlier this week when protests turned violent in Suti and Samserganj, resulting in stone-pelting and arson. However, police reported on Saturday that the situation in the affected areas is now under control.
The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, officially came into force on April 8, after a 12-hour debate in the Rajya Sabha, where the bill was passed with 128 votes in favour and 95 against. The Act modifies the Waqf Act, 1995, and the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2013, which regulate the administration and protection of Waqf properties in India.
Key features of the original acts include the creation of Waqf Tribunals—special courts whose decisions cannot be challenged in civil courts—and the prohibition of Waqf property sales. The 2025 amendment seeks to reform and streamline the governance of Waqf assets nationwide.
