Hyderabad: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi and chairman of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) BR Naidu indulged in a war of words on Sunday, November 4, criticising each other over remarks on the TTD and Waqf Board.
On November 3, Naidu took a dig at Owaisi for comparing the TTD with the Waqf board. “The Waqf board is a real estate company. How can a senior politician like him (Owaisi) compare it to TTD? I condemn his statement,” the TTD chairman remarked.
Naidu’s remarks come a day after Owaisi criticised his proposal to employ only Hindus as TTD staff members. Following his appointment, the TTD chairman stated that only Hindus should be employed within the temple precincts amid the controversy over adulterated ghee used in Tirupati temple.
In response to the TTD chairman’s remark, the AIMIM chief took to X and said, “Andhra Pradesh Charitable & Hindu Religious Institutions & Endowments Act 1987 controls around 4 Lakh Acres of Land.”
Owaisi further said that Telangana Charitable & Hindu Religious Institution & Endowments Act 1987, controls 87,235 Acres of Endowment (Temple) land as reported by CAG Report for the year ended March 2018.
“Odisha has the same 1951 Act. CAG report looked at a sample of 13 religious institutions. The report found the total landed property under these 13 Hindu religious institutions to be 12,767.67 acres.
Tamil Nadu has TNHR&CE Act 1959 as per the policy note published by the government of Tamil Nadu the total land under TNHR& CE was 4.78 lakh acres in 2022. The Hindu Endowment Boards control over 10 lakh acres in these four states,” the Hyderabad MP explained.
Owaisi added that the list doesn’t name states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra, which all have huge religious institutions. Owaisi remarked that the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh are spreading false information regarding the Waqf board.
The Hyderabad MP further reiterated that a non-Hindu cannot become a member of the Hindu Endowment Boards, even the commissioner or advisor cannot be from the minority.
Asaduddin Owaisi reacts to BR Naidu’s TTD staff remark
The duo began a war of words after BR Naidu proposed that all staff on the TTD should be from the Hindu community after taking charge on October 30.
Responding to the same, the AIMIM president on Friday, November 1 said, “The TTD chairman wants only Hindus as staff in Tirumala. However, the Modi government wants to make it mandatory for there to be non-Muslims in Waqf boards and Waqf council.”
‘What is good for the goose…’ Asaduddin Owaisi on TTD chairman’s staff remark
The Hyderabad MP further added, “Most Hindu Endowment laws insist that only Hindus should be its members. What is good for the goose should be good for the gander, no?”
