Manisha Kayande, the leader of the Shiv Sena, attacked opponents of the Waqf Amendment Law on April 7, arguing that their legal challenges are without validity considering the legislative process it went through. She charged detractors with disseminating misleading information to confuse the public. Kayande defended the law while speaking with ANI, saying that it was passed by Parliament after much deliberation and a review by the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC). She said that poor Muslims who had donated land or anything else there should be no injustice to them.
A number of organisations and political figures petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the modified Waqf Law. Speaking about this, Kayande said, “The bill has been passed in the Parliament with a majority, after hours of discussion, and after a JPC in which each party was given a chance to put in suggestions... How can their case stand in court when the bill has been passed in the House, the highest authority to make laws. They are just trying to create confusion among people by setting a fake narrative.”
She further said, “As you remember, during the elections of the Lok Sabha, a false narrative was set up like this. And now they want to present a false picture to the people. And now they are saying the lands of the Christians will go. This is not a bill related to any Hindu, Muslim, or any other religion. This is a bill that no unlawful person can force anyone in the name of the Waqf Board. And especially those poor Muslims who had donated land or anything else, there should be no injustice to them. There should be transparency in the matter of looting the land. Neither the collector nor anyone else had the right to investigate this matter. So, this is a new trick of the opposition.”
One of the biggest organisations of Islamic scholars in the nation, the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, has petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the law. AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan and AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi are among the prominent figures who have supported their call, expressing concerns that the revisions may jeopardise the autonomy of religious endowments and the rights of minorities.
ANI reports that on April 5, President Droupadi Murmu gave her approval to the Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill, 2025, and the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025. After much discussion, the Lok Sabha cleared the former, with 288 MPs voting in favour and 232 against. The measure was later approved by the Rajya Sabha with 128 votes in favour and 95 against.