Opposition slams PM Narendra Modi over ‘puncture repair’ comment on Muslims, Waqf properties

Opposition leaders have strongly criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a recent comment suggesting that young Muslims wouldn’t have to repair punctures for a living if Waqf properties—land and assets meant for religious or charitable use under Islamic law—had been used honestly.

Speaking at the inauguration of an airport in Hisar, Haryana, on Sunday, PM Modi said that lakhs of hectares of Waqf land had been misused. “If Waqf properties had been used honestly, Muslim youths wouldn’t need to earn their livelihood by repairing bicycle punctures. Only a few land mafias benefited from these properties. These mafias were grabbing land belonging to Dalits, backward communities, and widows,” he said. He added that changes made to the Waqf law would address this issue.

AIMIM leader and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi hit back, saying, “If the RSS had used its ideology and resources in the country’s interest, you wouldn’t have had to sell tea in your childhood.” He questioned what the Prime Minister had done for the poor—both Hindus and Muslims—during his 11 years in office. Owaisi added that the root problem was that Waqf laws had always been weak and argued that the recent amendments would only make them weaker.

Congress Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi said the Prime Minister's comment about Muslims repairing punctures was the kind of language often used by online trolls. “Such remarks don’t suit the Prime Minister. It is your government that has pushed the youth into a situation where there are no jobs, and people are left with no option but to repair punctures or sell fritters,” he said.

“Muslims don’t just make punctures. I could list many of their contributions, but this is not the time. You accuse Congress of supporting Muslims—do you hate them? If not, why did you sideline leaders like Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Shahnawaz Hussain, MJ Akbar, and Zafar Islam?” he asked.

He also criticised the government for claiming to support Muslims while not having a single Muslim MP in the Lok Sabha to present the Waqf Bill. “You talk about the rights of Muslim women, but there is no Muslim woman in your party in the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, or any state Assembly,” he added.

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate also questioned the Prime Minister, asking why he didn’t pay tribute to Dr BR Ambedkar—chief architect of the Constitution—on his birth anniversary in Parliament. In response to PM Modi’s jibe about Congress not appointing a Muslim party chief, Shrinate asked why the BJP doesn’t have a Dalit Chief Minister.

The Prime Minister had accused the Congress of appeasement politics, saying it harmed Muslims. “Congress only made a few fundamentalists happy, while the rest of the Muslim community remained poor and uneducated. The Waqf law is proof of that wrong approach,” he said.

The Waqf Amendment Bill, which passed Parliament earlier this month and is now an Act, was opposed by Congress and other Opposition parties. They claim the government is targeting minority communities and aiming to control Waqf properties. The BJP, on the other hand, says the amendments are necessary for better and more transparent management of Waqf assets.