PM Modi's ‘Muslims fix puncture’ remark fuels political storm over Waqf, welfare and stereotypes
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent comments linking Muslim youth repairing punctures to the alleged misuse of Waqf properties have drawn sharp criticism from opposition leaders, who accused him of promoting stereotypes and evading responsibility. Speaking at the inauguration of an airport in Hisar, Haryana, the Prime Minister said that if Waqf properties—lands dedicated for religious and charitable purposes under Islamic law—had been utilised properly, many young Muslims would not have been compelled to take up menial jobs like repairing bicycle punctures. “There are lakhs of hectares of Waqf land, but they were misused.
Only a handful of land mafias benefited while the rightful beneficiaries—Dalits, backward classes, widows—were left out,” Modi said. He added that recent amendments to the Waqf law were aimed at rectifying these issues. The remark immediately sparked a backlash. AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi countered by saying that if the Sangh Parivar had used its ideology and influence to genuinely serve the country, Modi might not have had to sell tea in his youth. On social media, Owaisi argued that weak Waqf regulations historically enabled the misuse of such properties, and that the new amendments would dilute protections even further. He also questioned what concrete steps the Modi government had taken for impoverished communities—regardless of religion—during its over-a-decade-long tenure. Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi also lashed out, calling the Prime Minister's statement reminiscent of online troll rhetoric. “Muslims don’t just fix punctures. They’ve built and contributed much to this country,” he said. He further accused the BJP of sidelining prominent Muslim figures from its own ranks. “Where are Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Shahnawaz Hussain, MJ Akbar, or Zafar Islam now?” he asked, pointing out that the ruling party didn’t have a single Muslim MP to even introduce the Waqf Bill in Parliament.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate also criticised the Prime Minister’s remarks, asking why he skipped paying homage to Dr B.R. Ambedkar at a recent event in Parliament. Taking a jibe at Modi’s comment on the Congress not having a Muslim party president, she retorted by questioning why the BJP lacks a Dalit Chief Minister in any state. Defending his government’s stance, Modi had alleged that decades of Congress rule promoted “appeasement politics” that failed to uplift ordinary Muslims. “The Waqf law is proof of how misguided policies left most of the community uneducated and poor,” he claimed. The recently passed Waqf Amendment Bill—now an Act—was pushed through Parliament earlier this month despite strong opposition. While the government insists the changes are aimed at improving the administration of Waqf lands, critics argue that it is a veiled attempt to control and appropriate properties belonging to the minority community.
