Azad Park in Prayagraj, Tiruchendur temple in TN: Amit Shah reveals shocking land claims by Waqf Boards

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the previous UPA government, saying the 2013 amendment to the Waqf Act led to large-scale land claims on prominent properties across India — from temples and gurdwaras to railway lands and parks. Participating in the Lok Sabha debate on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, Shah said, "If the Waqf law had not been amended in 2013, this bill would not have been necessary."

Shah alleged the 2013 amendment, passed just ahead of the 2014 general election, was brought in "overnight for the sake of appeasement" and allowed the Waqf Board to claim 123 high-profile properties in Delhi's Lutyens' Zone. "The Delhi Waqf Board transferred the land of Northern Railways to Waqf," he said.

Detailing the extent of what he termed "misuse," Shah cited multiple cases from across the country. In Himachal Pradesh, land was allegedly converted into Waqf property to build unauthorised mosques. In Tamil Nadu, 400 acres of land belonging to the 1,500-year-old Tiruchendur temple were declared Waqf. 

The Home Minister also mentioned other controversial claims: 1700 acres worth ₹66,000 crore in Telangana, 134 acres in Assam’s Morigaon district, 14 marla of gurdwara land in Haryana, Chandrashekhar Azad Park in Prayagraj, Mahadev temple land in Maharashtra’s Vadange village, and 12 acres taken from Kankaleshwar temple in Beed.

In Karnataka, 29,000 acres were leased for commercial use, with Waqf properties worth ₹2 lakh crore leased to private institutions between 2001 and 2012. In Vijaypur's Honwad village, land worth ₹500 crore was given to a five-star hotel for just ₹12,000 a month, he added.

He also flagged a claim made on the Dattapeeth temple in Karnataka, 600 acres in Taliparamba, and 1700 acres in Telangana worth ₹66,000 crore. "Even properties belonging to the Christian community were seized," he said, adding that many churches support the Waqf Bill today, having seen the impact of the 2013 amendment.

"From 1913 to 2013, the total land under Waqf was 18 lakh acres. Between 2013 and 2025, it increased by 21 lakh acres — taking it to 39 lakh acres in total,” Shah stated. He pointed out that while 20,000 properties were listed as leased earlier, records in 2025 show zero, implying many had been sold.

Shah insisted that the new Waqf Amendment Bill is necessary to stop further misuse. "This law has been enacted by the Parliament of India, making it binding on everyone," he said. "All this money is meant for the welfare of poor Muslims, not for the plundering of the wealthy."

Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, who tabled the bill, also defended the legislation, stating it aimed to correct misuse under the previous framework. "There were many instances of the ‘misuse’ of the earlier law," Rijiju said, citing how even a gurdwara in Haryana and properties of 600 families in Kerala were declared Waqf. "That is why many organisations, including Christian groups, have sought the act's immediate implementation."