A day after writing a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking complete withdrawal of the Waqf Amendment Bill, passed in the Lok Sabha late last night, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday announced that the ruling DMK will move the Supreme Court to challenge its constitutional validity.

Describing the passage of the Bill, despite the opposition from the majority of political parties in the country, as an assault on the Constitution which guaranteed protection to minorities, Stalin told the Assembly that Tamil Nadu will fight against the BJP-led Union Government’s anti-Muslim legislation and secure victory through legal means. “With the passage of the Bill due to the support of its allies at 2 am in the morning, the BJP had launched a brutal attack on the Constitutional edifice which will destroy secularism,” he said.

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Protesting the Bill’s passage in the Lok Sabha and its subsequent tabling in the Rajya Sabha, Stalin and the treasury benches, as well as the allies of the DMK, arrived at the House sporting black badges. “Besides posing a grave threat to the Muslim community, the Waqf Bill will undermine the autonomy of Waqf Boards, and it is condemnable that it has been steamrolled disregarding the stiff opposition from a majority of political parties,” he said, adding that this will disturb communal harmony.

Earlier, moving a resolution in the House on March 27, seeking withdrawal of the Bill, the Chief Minister charged the BJP with deliberately framing policies with the intention of excluding certain communities as was the case with the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), which excluded not only Muslims but Sri Lankan Tamils as well. “The Waqf (Amendment) Bill is yet another attempt at blatant interference in the religious administration of Muslims. Besides stripping the Waqf Boards of their autonomy, this divisive agenda will lead to legal hurdles for waqf institutions,” he said.