NEW DELHI: Amid mounting pressure from its Muslim leaders, key ally Telugu Desam Party may ask the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre to postpone the submission of the final report of the Joint Parliament Committee (JPC) on the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 to Parliament, according to sources.
The panel led by BJP MP Jagadambika Pal is scheduled to table the final report on the Waqf Bill in the first week of the winter session of Parliament, which begins on November 25. With 16 MPs, the TDP, led by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is a key partner of the NDA government, and its support is crucial for passing the bill in Parliament. If Naidu opposes the bill, the Centre may buy time to table it, said sources.
The JPC is in the final phase of consultations with stakeholders and visits to various states. “The government may not go ahead with the bill if Naidu opposes it. In that case, it will simply say that the report is yet to be finalised,” said a leader aware of the developments.
TDP’s Muslim leaders have urged Naidu not to support the amendments. With Muslims accounting for 10-12% of Andhra Pradesh’s population, the TDP doesn’t want to antagonise the community, which played a crucial role in its stunning victory in the recent assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
Muslim groups have been opposing several amendments, including the appointment of non-Muslims as members of the Central Waqf Council and state Waqf Boards.
Senior TDP leader Nawab Jan said last week that Naidu will not let any bill that harms Muslims be implemented. At the ‘Samvidhan Bachao Sammelan’ organised by Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind in Delhi, the TDP leader claimed that Naidu was instrumental in sending the Waqf Bill to the JPC.
Asserting that Naidu is a secular leader, he said Naidu’s opinion is that whether an institution is governed by Muslims or Hindus or Christians, it should be managed by people of the same religion.
A delegation of Muslim leaders, led by the AIMPLB leader Maulana Mohammed Fazlurrahim Mujaddidi, met Naidu on October 23 and urged him to oppose the Waqf Bill in Parliament. Naidu assured them that the party would make an appropriate decision after discussion with stakeholders.
The Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind had urged both Naidu and JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar to heed the sentiments of Muslims on the matter.
