Chandrababu Naidu meets with legal experts and Muslim organizations, arranges meetings late into Tuesday night, and briefs its 16 Members of Parliament on what to say in Parliament.
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a crucial partner in the Narendra Modi-led government, is anticipated to propose a significant change to the Waqf Bill, scheduled for debate in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
According to insiders, the TDP, which on Tuesday directed its 16 MPs to attend the session and back the government, plans to address the provision allowing non-Muslims to serve on state Waqf boards. “The party will collectively insist that the inclusion of non-Muslims on the board should be a decision left to individual states,” a TDP source revealed.
The source further noted that the party endorses all other proposed amendments to the Bill, including the addition of women to Waqf boards, calling it “a forward-thinking reform.”
Sources indicated that TDP leaders, including party president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, were engaged in discussions until nearly midnight on Tuesday, consulting legal experts about the Bill’s provisions and their potential impact. Naidu has also been in dialogue with Muslim organizations to gauge their perspectives on acceptable and unacceptable aspects of the legislation.
Following these deliberations, TDP MPs received instructions on their talking points for the parliamentary discussion.
