New Delhi: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM Asaduddin Owais on Saturday responded to the newly appointed chairman of the Tirupati temple, who said that only Hindus would be employed on the temple’s premises. In a pointed critique of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Owaisi said the inconsistency of the NDA government’s stance, noting that while the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) chairman has implemented a Hindu-only staffing policy, the government seeks to appoint non-Muslims to Waqf Boards.
Owaisi expressed his concerns. He said, “Not a single member of the 24-member TTD Board is non-Hindu. The new TTD chairman insists that all personnel should be Hindu. We have no objection to this; however, we question the necessity of the proposed Waqf bill, which mandates that two non-Muslim members be included in the central Waqf Council. Why introduce such a provision in the Waqf bill?”
He further said, “The TTD Board serves the Hindu faith, while the Waqf Board is for Muslims. There must be balance. If the trustees of TTD cannot include Muslims, then how can non-Muslims be part of the Waqf Board?”
TTD Chairman’s Hindu-only staffing policy
The new TTD chairman, B R Naidu, said on October 31 that all people working at the temple should be Hindus. On October 31, B R Naidu, the newly appointed chairman of the Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanams (TTD). He mentioned plans to consult with the Andhra Pradesh government regarding employees of other faiths, potentially offering them voluntary retirement or departmental transfers.
Waqf Bill
Apart from that, the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, introduced in August, aims to reform Waqf governance through digitisation, audits and enhanced transparency. The bill, which amends the Waqf Act of 1995, is under review by a Joint Parliamentary Committee gathering input from various stakeholders.
