Mamata Accuses BJP of Introducing Waqf Amendment Act; Vows to Protect People’s Property

PTI, MALDA, DEC 3, 2025: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday accused the BJP of introducing the contentious Waqf Amendment Act 2025 and asserted that her government would not allow "anyone to touch people's property". She further emphasized that she does not engage in religion-based politics.

Addressing a public meeting in Malda district, Banerjee accused "certain communal forces" of trying to divide people in the name of faith. "Some are trying to incite divisions using religion. The Waqf Amendment Act was created by the BJP, not us. We did not bring this law. We passed a resolution in the Assembly against it; we moved the Supreme Court. I do not do politics over religion. I love all faiths," she said.

Her remarks come at a time when the state government’s position on the Waqf Amendment Act has entered fresh ambiguity after it recently instructed district magistrates to upload data on the Centre's portal, triggering renewed tension and discomfort within the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC).

In April, following violent clashes in Murshidabad's Samserganj, Suti, and Dhulian, where at least three people were killed during protests against the amended law, Banerjee had assured that her government would not implement the new Act in West Bengal. However, despite months of resistance, the state government's Minority Affairs and Madrasah Education Department recently instructed district magistrates to upload details of nearly 82,000 Waqf properties to the Centre's UMID portal by the December 6 deadline, effectively signalling acceptance of the law and treating the exercise as a "time-bound compliance requirement" set by the Union government.

This apparent climbdown has exposed unease within the TMC. West Bengal Minister and Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind Bengal president Siddiqullah Chowdhury has said, "Muslims will not stay quiet if Waqf properties are taken away." Taking a direct swipe at both the Centre and the state's reluctant compliance, he remarked, "It is very easy to speak from AC rooms. But who will go to a village and tell the people that the Waqf land is no longer theirs? This has been imposed forcefully on Muslims." Chowdhury further warned that the struggle ahead would be "long and difficult," adding that the community was watching developments closely.

His comments underline the ruling party's challenge in balancing political pressures from the Centre, legal obligations, and anxieties among sections of its core minority support base.