New Delhi: The Supreme Court’s interim order on Monday (September 15) to not put a stay on the contentious Waqf Amendment Act 2025 has been welcomed by the government even as the opposition has said that the court’s move to put a stay on key provisions of the Act was a “tight slap” on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.Union minister for minority affairs Kiren Rijiju, who had brought the legislation to parliament, welcomed the interim order of the Supreme Court that did not put a stay on the entire statute but instead stayed key provisions.“I believe that whatever the Supreme Court bench has decided is a very good sign for our democracy. The order has maintained the parliament’s decision. The spirit of the judgement is very good for the nation and gives a good message for parliamentary democracy,” he said.Opposition parties, on the other hand, said that the interim judgement was a “tight slap” on the face of the government that sought to bring in unconstitutional amendments.“This verdict is yet another tight slap on the face of this government that is solely focused on destroying the Constitution,” said Congress MP and general secretary K.C. Venugopal.“If they had paid heed to the opposition’s advice given in parliament, they would have been spared this embarrassment. They should take the right lessons from this order and repeal the law immediately,” he said.Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said that the order represents a substantial victory “not just for the parties that opposed this arbitrary law in parliament but all those members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee who submitted detailed dissent notes, which were then ignored, but now stand vindicated.”“The order is an important one because it goes a long way towards undoing the mischievous intentions underlying the original statute,” he said.The interim order passed by a bench of Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai and Justice A.G. Masih stayed the provision under which a person was required to be a practitioner of Islam for five years before dedicating a property to Waqf; allowing a government officer to decide a dispute over whether Waqf property has encroached upon a government property and limiting the number of non-Muslim members to four in the Central Waqf Council and three in the state Waqf boards.While it did not put a stay on the provision allowing a non-Muslim to be the CEO of a state Waqf board, the court said that as far as possible a Muslim person should be appointed.The legislation was passed in parliament on April 4 after two consecutive days of midnight sessions in which opposition members accused the government of disempowering Muslims through the “unconstitutional” legislation and reducing them to “second class citizens”. While the Rajya Sabha passed it with 128 votes in favour and 95 against, the Lok Sabha passed it 288-232.The legislation had been sent to a joint parliamentary committee, after it was first introduced in parliament in August, but the committee had rejected 44 amendment suggestions made by opposition MPs, while 14 from the NDA camp were accepted.‘Interim order will not protect Waqf properties’: OwaisiHowever, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen MP Asaduddin Owaisi said that this was only an interim order and that it would not stop the law brought in by the Modi government.“I believe this is just an interim order. We want the Supreme Court to give a final decision on the whole Act soon and for a hearing on it to begin. The interim order will not protect Waqf properties from the law brought in by the Modi government. Encroachers will be rewarded while Waqf properties won’t be developed. We hope the Supreme Court delivers a final decision soon,” said Owaisi.He said that the court had not entirely stayed the provision that a person has to be a practising Muslim of five years, but only until the time that rules are framed.“There is no law preventing a person of any religion from donating to another religion. According to Article 300 of the Constitution, I can give my property to anyone I want. Then why is such a provision made for the followers of this religion [Islam]? We want the government to give data on who donated property to Waqf after converting. The provision of the collector’s inquiry has been stayed. But the collector still has the power to conduct a survey. Earlier this was done by a survey commissioner who was independent,” the MP said.Owaisi also said that while the court has said that CEOs of state Waqf boards should be Muslim “as far as possible”, this provides the government with an alternative to say that no Muslim was found.“The government will claim that they did not find a capable Muslim. Will a party that does not give an MP ticket to a Muslim and does not have a Muslim MP choose a Muslim officer?”INDIA bloc parties commend interim orderTamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin said that while the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam had challenged the law in the Supreme Court after opposing it in parliament, the order “strengthens the hope and trust that people place in the Hon’ble Supreme Court to safeguard the religious rights of the Muslim minority community and to uphold the Constitution.”“This order is a major step towards undoing the unconstitutional and illegal amendments made by the BJP Government,” he said.Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose said that an “important message has been sent to the rickety Modi coalition.”“An important message has been sent to the rickety Modi coalition. Hastily passed legislation which interferes in the freedom of religion needs a RETHINK,” she said.Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav said that his party had said in parliament that the government should not interfere with the Waqf. “We hope that the Supreme Court will do further justice.”