BJP MP Nishikant Dubey&rsquo;s Remarks Stir Political and Legal Tempest Amid Waqf Act Debate
&nbsp;In a charged escalation of political rhetoric and judicial commentary, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has once again attracted national attention&mdash;this time for a series of controversial remarks that have sparked widespread condemnation across legal and political circles. The controversy began with his public criticism of the Supreme Court&rsquo;s authority and deepened with a communalized attack against former Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi.
The controversy erupted shortly after the Supreme Court began hearing a clutch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. The petitions raise questions about the state&rsquo;s role in managing religious properties, with particular focus on the alleged encroachment of public and private land under the Waqf framework. As this legal scrutiny unfolded, Quraishi publicly criticised the amendment, accusing the government of orchestrating a "sinister plan" to dispossess Muslims of their religious and ancestral lands.
Reacting sharply, Nishikant Dubey launched a personal attack on Quraishi, insinuating that he had functioned not as an impartial election commissioner, but as a "Muslim commissioner." Dubey further alleged that during Quraishi&rsquo;s tenure, electoral rolls in Jharkhand&rsquo;s Santhal Pargana were manipulated to include "Bangladeshi infiltrators." These serious and unsubstantiated claims appear to be aimed at undermining Quraishi&rsquo;s credibility and questioning the neutrality of a constitutional office.
Dubey extended his argument into historical and civilizational narratives, asserting that lands now governed under Waqf were originally owned by Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, or tribal communities before the arrival of Islam in India. Referencing his own village, Vikramshila&mdash;a site with deep historical significance that was reportedly destroyed during Bakhtiyar Khilji&rsquo;s invasions&mdash;Dubey attempted to frame his remarks in the context of historical continuity and national unity. He concluded his post with a veiled warning: &ldquo;Pakistan was created by division. There will be no partition now.&rdquo;
Simultaneously, Dubey stirred institutional ire by questioning the legitimacy of the Supreme Court&rsquo;s judicial activism. Suggesting that the Court was encroaching upon legislative functions, he provocatively declared that &ldquo;if the Supreme Court is making the laws, then the Parliament building should be shut down.&rdquo; This comment was made in the context of the Waqf Act hearings but was widely interpreted as an attack on the separation of powers and the authority of the judiciary.
The statements were met with immediate backlash. Opposition parties accused Dubey of undermining constitutional values and disrespecting judicial independence. A formal letter has been submitted to the Attorney General seeking sanction to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against Dubey for his remarks against the Supreme Court and Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna.
The BJP has since sought to contain the damage. Party president J.P. Nadda issued a clarification distancing the organisation from Dubey&rsquo;s comments, emphasizing that the judiciary remains an &ldquo;inseparable pillar of Indian democracy&rdquo; and affirming the party&rsquo;s respect for judicial institutions. Nadda also indicated that Dubey&rsquo;s remarks were his personal views and that party members have been advised to refrain from making similar statements.
Dubey, a four-term MP from Godda, Jharkhand, remains unrepentant. Yet his words have stirred a confluence of legal, communal, and constitutional anxieties at a politically sensitive time, with the judiciary, Parliament, and public discourse increasingly intersecting on contested lines.
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Former CEC S.Y. Quraishi and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey

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April 21, 2025 | 08:11 IST