© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which is a key ally in the Narendra Modi government, is expected to ask for one key amendment to the Waqf Bill, which will be taken up for discussion in the House on Wednesday.
Sources said that the party, which on Tuesday issued a whip to its 16 MPs to be present in the Lok Sabha and support the government, will raise the issue of the Bill allowing for non-Muslims in state Waqf boards. “The party will unanimously demand that representation of non-Muslims in the board be left to the discretion of the respective states,” a TDP source said.
The source added that the party would support all other amendments to the Bill, including inclusion of women in Waqf boards. “That’s a progressive change.”
Sources said that TDP leaders, including its chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, were part of discussions till almost midnight Tuesday, consulting legal experts on the provisions of the Bill and its implications. Naidu has also been in talks with Muslim groups to see what is acceptable to them and what is not.
The TDP MPs were later briefed on what to say in Parliament.
The TDP’s opposition to inclusion of non-Muslims in Waqf boards should be considered an assurance to the Muslim community in Andhra Pradesh by the party that “no major changes will be affected in the Waqf Act”, a TDP source said. “All that we are supporting are progressive changes which will benefit the Muslim community,” the source added.
At an iftar held in March, Naidu had made it a point to reassure that the TDP would “work in the best interests of the Muslim community”. Naidu had also said his government was “committed to protecting Waqf properties”. “Justice has been done to the Muslim community under TDP rule. And Muslims will be better off with the NDA in power,” he had said, which had raised hopes of Muslim bodies in the state.
Muslims are a crucial vote bank for the TDP in Andhra.
As per the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, the Central Waqf Council that advises Central and state governments and the different Waqf boards can have non-Muslim members. “The Union Minister in-charge of Waqf is the ex-officio chairperson of the Council. The Act requires that all Council members be Muslims, and at least two must be women. The Bill instead provides that… MPs, former judges, and eminent persons appointed to the Council as per the Act need not be Muslims,” says the Bill.
The other suggested changes in the Waqf Act include renaming of the legislation as Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development Act, 1995, “to reflect its broader objective of improving the management and efficiency of Waqf boards and properties, emphasising empowerment and development along with effective administration”, the government has said.
Apart from this, the Bill states that “any government property identified as Waqf will cease to be so. The Collector of the area will determine ownership in case of uncertainty, and submit a report to the state government. If deemed a government property, he will update the revenue records”.
