Waqf law will be amended despite opposition: Shah

The Union government will push through amendments in the Waqf Act despite resistance from key Opposition leaders such as Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar, Union home minister Amit Shah said on Friday, adding that Maoist violence will be eliminated in Chhattisgarh by March 31, 2026.

Addressing three election rallies in Maharashtra's Yavatmal, Chandrapur and Hingoli, Shah dared Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to publicly laud Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar and Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, and likened the battle between the Mahayuti and the Maha Vikas Aghadi to one between the Pandavas and Kauravas in the Mahabharata.

"Modi ji wants to change the Waqf Board law, but Uddhav ji, Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule are opposing it. Uddhav ji, listen carefully, you all can protest as much as you want, but Modi ji will amend the Waqf Act," he said in Yavatmal district.

The controversial bill, now being examined by a joint parliamentary committee, was introduced in the Lok Sabha in August. The draft bill proposed sweeping changes in the regula tion and governance of India's waqf boards, which manage Islamic charitable endowments. The government argued that the bill will modernise an archaic and complex system in line with recommendations of the 2006 Rajinder Sachar Committee. But the Opposition demanded greater scrutiny for the bill, alleging that it would hurt Muslim communities.