AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi participated in a symbolic protest by switching off the lights at his residence, in response to the All India Muslim Personal Law Board’s (AIMPLB) nationwide call against the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025.
Speaking about the protest, Owaisi said:
“This call by the AIMPLB has been successful…I thank all for this. This protest is being organised to send a message to PM Modi’s government that this Act will undermine the Waqf Board. The law that was made is unconstitutional… After one to two weeks, a human chain protest and some round table conferences will be organised…”
The AIMPLB has been vocal against the recently enacted law. On April 27, a protest was also held in Kalaburagi, Karnataka, as part of the broader campaign against the legislation.
Meanwhile, the Union Government filed a preliminary affidavit in the Supreme Court on April 25, defending the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. The Centre claimed the amendments only aim to regulate secular property management and do not infringe upon religious freedoms granted under Articles 25 and 26 of the Indian Constitution.
The affidavit further urged the court not to stay any provisions of the Act, asserting that courts should not interfere with statutory laws without a final judgment.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on April 2 and in the Rajya Sabha on April 3. After passing in both Houses, the Bill received Presidential assent on April 5, officially becoming law.
On a separate note, Owaisi also condemned the recent Pahalgam terror attack, saying:
“I outrightly condemned what happened in Pahalgan, and I’ll continue to do that. I also said that it all happened as Pakistan was behind it, their government was behind that attack… the saddest part was that people were being killed in front of their families and after being asked their religion, Hindus were killed… Even AIMPLB condemned that attack and we paused our protest for 3 days…”
The AIMPLB plans to continue its resistance against the Act through upcoming human chain demonstrations and roundtable discussions.