CM to hold waqf act meet with Muslim community leaders on April 16
Times of India | 12 April 2025
Kolkata: CM Mamata Banerjee will hold a meeting with religious figures from the Muslim community on April 16 to discuss the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025. The meeting will be attended by imams, muezzins and other intellectuals from across the state, mayor and minister Firhad Hakim said on Friday.
On Wednesday, a day after Centre notified the act into law, Banerjee said policies that divided people would not be allowed in Bengal. She added that she would keep advocating unity and love till her last breath and would not allow any religious division "even if she was shot".
Hakim said the battle against the act would be fought in Supreme Court. "We earlier passed a resolution against this law from Centre. It states that we will not comply with the Waqf Act. Additionally, we will collect 10 million signatures and send them to PM Narendra Modi. This battle needs to be fought in Supreme Court, not here in Bengal. We have no issues in Bengal. The protest against the waqf act will continue. We are fortunate to have Mamata Banerjee as our CM. There is no room for disorder here. Bengal is a pilgrimage site for all religions," he told reporters.
A resolution urging the withdrawal of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill was passed by voice vote in the Bengal assembly last year. Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra has approached SC challenging the validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025.
A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and justices Sanjay Kumar and KV Viswanathan has listed for hearing on April 16 ten other petitions, including one filed by AIMIM's Asaduddin Owaisi.
There were protests in Park Circus, Esplanade and Rajabazar for a second consecutive day. There were also agitations in Murshidabad and other parts of Bengal.
Qari Fazlur Rahman, who leads Eid prayers and is a member of the Waqf board, condemned the legislation, calling it "unacceptable" and "an attempt to harass Muslims further". He urged the West Bengal Waqf Board to take immediate and necessary legal action to protect community interests.
"This law is not acceptable to us," said Rahman. "Govt's intentions are not in the right place. This law appears to be a deliberate effort to target Muslims and interfere with their religious and community assets. It's clear from govt's approach that they have no intention of repealing or amending it. But if we unite and resist collectively, we can push for necessary changes."
He pointed out several loopholes in the law, emphasising that it posed a serious threat to mosques, graveyards, madrasas and other community properties. Several imams delivered sermons after the Friday prayers to sensitise the people about the act and urged them to register their protests peacefully.
"We must garner support from like-minded people from across all communities. Today they are targeting one community. Tomorrow they will target others," said Afaque Ali, imam of a mosque on Collin Street.