Hyderabad, Aug 26: Telangana Waqf Board today became the first state Waqf Board in the country to oppose Waqf Amendment Bill 2024.
At a meeting on Monday, the state Waqf Board rejected the proposed amendments terming it a retrograde step to target the Muslim community and Waqf institutions.
A meeting of the state Waqf Board presided over by chairman Syed Azmatullah Husseni and attended by seven members, including AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi resolved to reject the proposed amendments to the Waqf Act.
Owaisi, who along with All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) president Moulana Khaled Saifullah Rahmani had met Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy two days ago, thanked for his support in opposing the Bill.
The members who attended the meeting were Abul Fateh Bandagi Badesha Quadri, Malik Moatasim Khan, Aisha Masarath Khanam, and M.A.K. Mukheed. Two members Syed Akbar Nizamuddin Hussaini and Syed Nissar Hussain (Hyder Agha) attended the meeting virtually.
The Board rejected the bill as a retrograde step to target the Muslim community and Waqf institutions and condemned the divisive agenda being pushed through the controversial bill.
The Board also resolved to meet Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf Amendment Bill to present the requisite document/data. It decided to meet all chairpersons/CEOs of Waqf Boards of states ruled by non-BJP parties.
According to a statement released after the meeting, the Waqf Board has gone through carefully and diligently into the proposed Waqf Amendment Bill 2024, clause by clause, and has also discussed the issue with legal experts and administrators.
The Board said that it is convinced about the harmful and damaging effects of the provisions of the Bill. It passed a resolution rejecting the proposed amendments.
“It is obvious to the Board that the proposed bill has been prepared with a particular mindset and aims at destroying the autonomy of Waqf Board and the very institution of Waqf by bringing the Waqfs under the total control of Collectors who will be free to claim and determine any Waqf property as government property and give directions to Mutawalli and its compliance will be binding on Mutawalli,” said the resolution.
“The bill destroys the structure of Waqf Council and Waqf Board by making them nominated, introducing essentially two non-Muslim members and leaving scope for Council and Board eventually become non-Muslim domination,” reads the resolution.
The meeting also noted that the bill is against the principle of federal governance because it aims at excluding the role of state government from the administration of Waqf and even rule-making power and prescription of formats are sought to be usurped by the Central government.
Telangana Waqf Board also mentioned that the proposed bill seeks to perpetuate communal discrimination as several provisions are in direct contrast with the provisions of the Hindu Endowment Act.
The meeting felt that the bill is a direct infringement of Articles 14, 19, 21, 25 and 300-A of the Constitution of India as it interferes in the freedom of religion and right to property, in as much as it prohibits a Muslim from dealing with his/her own property unless he is certified to be a practising Muslim for five years.
