‘Land jihad’ will end with new Waqf law, says Telangana BJP MLA T Raja Singh

T Raja Singh, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from Telangana, on Sunday claimed that the amended Waqf Bill would help end what he called “land jihad” in the country.

Speaking at a Ram Navami procession, Raja Singh claimed that those involved in “land jihad” had been facing difficulties ever since a “saffron government” came to power in India.

“Those who used to put up a board (on a land parcel) in the name of ‘land jihad’ by issuing a Waqf notice, as if it was the property of their father, would no longer be able to install such boards because Prime Minister Narendra Modi has passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill,” Singh said.

The BJP MLA said that when India became independent, the “Waqf board people” had around 4,000 acres of land. “How did they get 9,50,000 (9.5 lakh) acres?” he asked.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, became law on Saturday after President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent, following intense debates in both Houses of Parliament last week.

The BJP lawmaker said Muslims should understand that the amended legislation would not take away their lands, and referred to Modi’s “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” slogan to support his point.

‘Owaisi is the biggest enemy of Muslims’

Singh alleged that AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi was the “biggest enemy of Muslims” and criticised his opposition to the amended Waqf law.

The Goshamahal MLA said Owaisi moving the Supreme Court against the law would not change anything.

In his petition, Owaisi argued that the amendment removed key protections earlier given to Waqfs as well as to Hindu, Jain, and Sikh religious and charitable endowments.

Singh, meanwhile, claimed that it was the demand of “every Hindu” that the country be declared a “Hindu Rashtra.”

The Ram Navami procession led by Singh started in the afternoon and continued till late into the night.

To ensure that the Ram Navami processions took place peacefully, police deployed nearly 20,000 personnel and put in place extensive security arrangements.