Cong: SC's Waqf move key to restoring order

Hours after the Union government gave assurance to the Supreme Court that it will not implement key provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act till the next hearing, the Congress on Thursday welcomed the top court's preliminary observations, saying they have opened the space for a broader and necessary debate on the legitimate concerns surrounding "this hastily enacted legislation".

- Saubhadra Chatterji

Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi, who addressed a press conference along with party lawmaker Imran Pratapgarhi, said the top court has re-established the "earlier legal position" on three points of the Act.

"The principal point we made in the Supreme Court is that it is not about improving institutions but about controlling them and closing them. The government can't amputate Article 26 (of Constitution) and call it administrative efficiency," Singhvi said.

Article 26 guarantees the freedom to manage religious affairs.

Singhvi maintained that a Waqf board with token Muslim representation is another word for appropriation. "It is about a message that minority interests are fair game for takeover. The law is against established principles of law," the Rajya Sabha member said.