Tamil Nadu’s Waqf Bill resolution triggers uproar in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly
The latest decision by the M.K. Stalin-led Tamil Nadu government to pass a firm anti-Waqf Bill resolution and simultaneously move the Supreme Court to challenge the contentious Act resonated in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on April 7, prompting Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather to adjourn the proceedings for the day.
Amid pandemonium and protests against the controversial Waqf Act, the Speaker adjourned the House twice. When the protests did not abate and disorder persisted, he finally adjourned the House for the day. The Speaker refused to entertain any discussions on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, citing the matter as “sub judice”.
Earlier, opposition leaders led by People’s Democratic Party (PDP) MLA Waheed Parra hailed the Tamil Nadu government’s stance on the Waqf Bill. Notably, Kashmir’s head priest and chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, also praised the Tamil Nadu government’s position while criticising the ruling National Conference for “compliance and capitulation”.
Opposition’s ire
Waheed Parra attempted to move a resolution against the controversial Waqf Act, stating: “This Assembly resolves to urge the Union government to immediately withdraw the Waqf Amendment Act and restore the previous legal framework governing all Waqf properties.”
However, the Speaker refused to allow Parra’s resolution. “With as many as 50 Muslim MLAs, the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly failed its community by not passing a resolution against the Waqf Act. On the other hand, the Tamil Nadu government took an unambiguous stance,” Parra, the PDP’s youth leader, told Frontline.
He accused the ruling National Conference, led by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, of “surrendering on all important issues”. “Sadly, the National Conference keeps offering a meek surrender—first on Articles 370 and 35A, then on statehood, and now even on an important religious matter, the Waqf Act. No resolution on the Waqf amounts to silent approval,” he said.
Echoing Parra’s views, Hurriyat chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq commended the Tamil Nadu government’s stand and denounced the National Conference’s “capitulation”. “It is deeply disheartening to witness the National Conference government and the Speaker of the J&K Assembly hiding behind technicalities and refusing to discuss such an important issue,” Mirwaiz told Frontline, adding: “Tamil Nadu, with only a six per cent Muslim population, passed a robust anti-Waqf Bill resolution. The NC government refused to draw any lessons from Tamil Nadu.”
He also expressed similar sentiments on X (formerly Twitter). Former Chief Minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said that Muslims across India had their hopes pinned on Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir but had faced disappointment. “We are a Muslim-majority region. The Muslim community had hoped that our Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, a Muslim, would at least speak up and stand in solidarity with them. The least they expected was that he would not allow the Waqf Act to be implemented in Jammu and Kashmir. But that was not to be,” she said
Source: The Hindu