Published Nov 05, 2024 | 5:49 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 05, 2024 | 5:49 PM
Chandrababu Naidu with PM Modi. (X)
The Telugu Desam is bracing for its first test. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s worst fears of being forced to ruffle Muslim sentiments appear to be coming true.
When the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, comes up in Parliament in the winter session, the TDP has to firm up its stand. Now, it is caught between Scylla and Charybdis — forced to choose the lesser of two evils.
The Muslims may not like him if he backs the bill and the BJP may not like him if he opposes it. He does not like either prospect.
The premonition manifested before him when a delegation of Muslim leaders called on him recently and urged him to reject the bill. They argued that its various provisions were against the purpose for which Muslims had donated properties, in furtherance of the cause of Islam.
They are objecting to the government’s attempts to have greater control over Waqf boards, which manage Islamic charitable endowments.
More than the test, the continuous taunting of the YSRCP on what the TDP thought about the amendment is also rankling the party leadership.
YSRCP MP V Vijaya Sai Reddy said that his party opposed the bill and wrote a letter to the JPC, listing its opposition on nine points. He has already taken a dig at the TDP for supporting it when it came up in the Cabinet but was shying away openly when it had made its stand clear.
Understandably, the YSRCP is on a sticky wicket. It is trying to win back or retain its Muslim constituency and Naidu is afraid of the project. But his hands are tied. No one envies Naidu in his present predicament.
