Hyderabad: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday, November 2, opined that the proposed Waqf Board Amendment Bill and the inclusion of non-Muslims on Waqf Board committees is a “violation” of the article 26 of the Indian Constitution.
He asked why there is a need to have non-Muslims as members of the Waqf Board when Hindu endowment boards across the country have no single Muslim member.
On TTD’s new board
Owaisi’s reaction comes in the context of the newly constituted board of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam and the remarks made by its new chairman regarding the staff at the TTD.
The newly appointed chairman of the Thirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), BR Naidu on Thursday, October 31 said that all staff employed in the Tirupati temple should be Hindus.
Naidu said he would consult the Andhra Pradesh (AP) government on how to deal with staff members belonging to minorities, whether they should be sent to other government departments or given VRS (Voluntary Retirement Scheme).
“Everyone who works at Tirumala should be Hindu. That would be my first effort. There are many issues in this. We have to look into that,” said the chairman. Naidu said that it is a privilege to be appointed the chairperson of the TTD board.
All 24 board members are Hindus, there is no non-Hindu since section 96 of the TTD board states that those appointed as members shall be practising the Hindu religion. Part 14 of the Andhra Pradesh Charitable Religious Act 1997 prescribes conditions including all members should be Hindus, and section 106 specifies that executive officers and joint executive officers should profess Hinduism.
“The new chairman of the board has said that the staff of the TTD should be Hindu. I feel he is doing according to Hinduism and we don’t have an issue with it,” the AIMIM president said.
He further said that the Modi government has brought in the Waqf Board Amendment Bill which mandates that the Central Waqf Council should have two non-Muslim members which could be extended up to 12.
“Why is there a proposal to have non-Muslim members in the Waqf Board when there is no non-Muslim member on TTD or AP Hindu endowment board ?” Owaisi asked.
He remarked that there should be parity among the boards, adding that when there is no non-Hindu member on boards like TTD why should non-Muslims be a part of the Central or State Waqf Board.
“Now, the TTD board chairman says that the employees at the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam should be Hindus, One needs to understand that as per Article 25 of the Constitution Hinduism includes Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains. However, only people from the community will be employed at the TTD,” the Hyderabad MP said while addressing a press conference.
Similarly, the Kashivishwanth temple board also specifies that all its members should be Hindus, which is the same as Hindu endowment boards in states including Telangana, AP, Odisha and Tamil Nadu. All these boards specify that any member who relinquishes Hinduism shall be removed from the board.
Owaisi further said that appointing Hindus to these boards is fine since they understand it best. “Why non-Muslims should be appointed as members of the Waqf Board, I say this based on article 26 of the Constitution which guarantees freedom to manage religious affairs of a community.”
‘Inclusion of non-Muslims in Waqf Board violation of Article 26’
The AIMIM president further remarked that the proposed inclusion of non-Muslims in the Waqf Board is a violation of Article 26.
On the Centre’s move regarding the Waqf Board Amendment bill Owaisi said that the government is empowering the collector and the CEO of the Waqf Board who would be a non-Muslim and will be in control for five years, and said that it would hurt the functioning of the Waqf board.
“Why is there discrimination regarding membership of boards when it comes to TTD or other temples and the Waqf Board,” he asked.
