New Delhi: The Opposition on Monday called the Supreme Court ordering a stay on the key provisions of the “blatantly problematic” new Waqf law, as a “tight slap on the face” of the Modi government and said it could have avoided the "embarrassment" if the ruling BJP had heeded to their advice.

Welcoming the SC order, though it did not stay the entire law, the Opposition parties said that it was a “win for the Constitutional values of justice, equality, and fraternity” and demanded the law be repealed by taking the “right lessons” from the order.

The government too welcomed the order with Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju saying it was a “very good sign” for democracy. “The provisions are beneficial to the entire Muslim community. The misuse, including encroachment of property through Waqf Board, will now be stopped,” he said in Mumbai.