The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is taking a nuanced approach to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, introduced by the Centre on August 8. The Bill, which proposes about 40 amendments to the Waqf Act of 1995, has been referred to a 31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) after facing strong opposition in the Lok Sabha.

The INDIA bloc, AIMIM led by Asaduddin Owaisi and the Muslim community have sharply criticised the proposed amendments.

Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP, a major ally of the BJP, has adopted a strategy designed to avoid upsetting both the BJP as well as its Muslim electorate.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024, introduced by Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, aims to address issues concerning the powers of state Waqf boards and the process of registering Waqf properties by amending the Waqf Act of 1995.

Although the TDP has supported the Bill, it wants a Parliamentary committee to look at it. In his speech in the Lok Sabha, TDP MP GM Harish Balayogi conveyed the party’s willingness to see the Bill reviewed by a parliamentary panel.

“I appreciate the concern with which the government has brought this Bill. The purpose of the donors (of the Waqf land) needs to be protected. When the purpose and power get misused, it is the responsibility of the government to bring reforms and transparency in the system… (But) If wider consultations are required to remove misconceptions and wrong information… and to educate (members) on the purpose of the Bill, we have no problem sending it to a select committee,” he said on August 8.

However, during a press conference on August 10, Mohammad Fathullah, general secretary of the TDP minority cell, expressed concerns about the bill and said that it was due to the TDP’s intervention that the Union government sent the controversial Bill to a Parliamentary committee.

“Chandrababu Naidu has never had the image of someone who is anti-Muslim and the community still stands by him. Our leader has made significant efforts to send the Waqf Board Amendment Bill to the JPC, despite being part of the NDA coalition,” Fathullah told The News Minute.

Palnadu MP Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, who is part of the Parliamentary committee, will voice his concerns after Naidu and TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh discuss the issue with representatives of the Muslim community in Andhra Pradesh, he added.

Fathullah argued that any amendments to the Waqf Act should aim to strengthen, rather than weaken, the institution. “The bill proposes the cancellation of the Waqf Survey Commission, transferring its powers to collectors, which are potentially biased and detrimental to the protection of Waqf assets. The Waqf Survey Commission should continue to function. This will lead to ‘Collector Raj’ . There is also no specification that two women who would be part of the national body are Mulsim,” Fathullah told Deccan Herald.

Fathullah objected to the inclusion of non-Muslims in the State Waqf Board Committee and the removal of the requirement that the Waqf Board’s CEO be Muslim. He said that such appointments could undermine the board’s effectiveness. He also raised strong objections to another provision that grants district collectors the authority to decide the ownership of contentious properties, a move he believes is heavily contested.

He demanded a thorough reassessment of these provisions and suggested that amendments are needed to address these issues.

Meanwhile, the role of the Joint Parliamentary Committee assigned to review the bill remains unclear. K Rahman Khan, former Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf Boards, informed The Hindu that the Union government has yet to define the committee’s terms of reference.

“They have not provided any details on what the panel’s priorities will be, aside from the Bill. Procedurally, the Bill should have been referred to a standing committee. The committees are not yet formed, which is probably why the Union government has created a joint panel,” Khan said.