CUDDALORE: Former Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K S Alagiri on Wednesday said the recent Waqf Board amendment runs contrary to the principles of the Constitution, which guarantees equal rights to all religions.
Speaking to reporters in Chidambaram, he said, “If people in India are living in peace today, it is not because of political parties or Parliament, but because of our Constitution. Despite being home to diverse communities, languages and religions, the country has remained united for over seven decades only due to its constitutional framework.”
He recalled that Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru had envisioned the government structure, while B R Ambedkar gave it shape through the written Constitution. “Yet, citing a majority in Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pushing amendments that undermine it,” he charged.
Welcoming the Supreme Court’s interim stay on certain provisions of the amendment, Alagiri said the clause restricting property donations to the Waqf Board only to those who had been Muslims for five years was discriminatory. “Why should such a condition exist only for Islam and not for other religions?” he asked.
He also objected to provisions empowering district collectors to decide ownership of disputed Waqf properties, arguing that “only courts can decide ownership, not collectors.” Further, he criticised the move to allow non-Muslims on the Waqf Board. “Can non-Sikhs be part of the Akali Dal or non-Christians run churches? If changes are to be made, they must apply equally to all religions,” he said.
Alagiri alleged that the amendments were designed to create communal unrest and urged the Supreme Court to ensure just provisions in its final verdict.
Congress functionaries from Cuddalore district and Chidambaram town were present.