Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday demanded that the Narendra Modi-led government withdraw the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024, much like it did with the withdrawal of lateral entry into the bureaucracy.
Speaking to the media, Mr. Owaisi, who is the president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, said that he, along with All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) president Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, met Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Saturday evening, and apprised him of the large-scale problems the Bill poses for Muslim personal laws and freedom of religion.
“Mr. Revanth Reddy told us K.C. Venugopal (Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan) had opposed this during the introduction of the Bill. We showed him its problems, clause-by-clause. We were told that former minister Mohammad Ali Shabbir had organised a consultation on this,” Mr. Owaisi said.
The AIMPLB board will organise public meetings, meet Opposition parties such as the YSRCP, and meet Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Mr. Owaisi said. Representatives from Bihar would meet Union Minister Chirag Paswan, he added.
Poking holes in the Bill, Mr. Owaisi said that, unlike the Hindu Endowments, waqf boards do not have summary eviction powers that enable encroachment removal. He also said while on the one hand, the Bill seeks to include Hindus on the waqf board, on the other, Endowments ensure that its office-bearers are Hindu.
Mr. Owaisi pointed out that temples are declared as such by custom and usage. However, waqf-by-user, which the Modi-led government seeks to remove, is similar and recognises graveyards, masjids and dargahs in the same way. The Hindu Endowments get grants from the government, unlike waqf boards in the country.
Touching upon the mood of the Muslims, Mr. Owaisi said, “Today, all Muslims are sad and angry. All Muslims realise that Narendra Modi wants to grab waqf lands, graveyards, and agricultural lands. He is ruining waqf in the name of protecting it.”
Mr. Owaisi sought to contrast the provisions of the Sri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Act, 1983, which prescribes Hindus as office-bearers, and the new Waqf Bill which seeks to include Muslims.
Criticising Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Monitoring and Protection Agency (HYDRAA), Mr. Owaisi dared the Congress government in Telangana to demolish the Necklace Road, which he said was built within the full tank level (FTL), as was the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation office. He claimed that the Hyderabad Golf Course in Naya Qila, Golconda too was constructed within the FTL, and pointed out several bureaucrats play there. “Our corporators met the Mayor, and stated that HYDRA has no legal, legislative backing. Our MLA Kausar Mohiuddin met the Chief Secretary and informed her of this,” he said.
