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Fact-Check: Has the Chandrababu Government Abolished Waqf in Andhra Pradesh?

The social media claim that the Andhra Pradesh government has permanently done away with the Waqf Board is misleading.
N. Chandrababu Naidu. Source: X (@ncbn)
N. Chandrababu Naidu. Source: X (@ncbn)
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Several social media users have recently claimed the Chandrababu Naidu government in Andhra Pradesh has abolished Waqf Board. The claims have gone viral in the backdrop of the contentious Waqf Bill introduced by the BJP government, which proposes more than 40 amendments to the Waqf Act.

BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) posted the viral claim, re-tweeting a Times Now video report on the ‘dissolution’ of the Waqf Board, which terms it a ‘stealth strike’ by Chandrababu Naidu. 

 

Verified X account The Jaipur Dialogues (@JaipurDialogues) also posted the viral claim. At the time of this article being written, the post has gathered a staggering 10 Lakh views, besides being re-tweeted some 10,000 times. It has since then been deleted. 

Alt News has, several times in the past, fact-checked and debunked false claims by this X account.

BJP member Tripurari Kumar Tiwari alias Manish Kashyap (@ManishKasyapsob) alleged the same in a tweet. He wrote that the existence of a Waqf Board was unconstitutional in a secular country like India.

Verified X user Rishi Bagree (@rishibagree) also shared the viral claim. At the time of this article being written, this post has accumulated around 2.7 Lakh views, and has been re-shared almost 2,500 times.

Alt News has fact-checked and called out false claims by Rishi Bagree on several occasions.

X verified user (@ocjain4) also sharedd the viral claim, with a caption in Hindi. This has also seen a lot of traction, with over 1 Lakh views, and close to 2,000 re-tweets.

The viral claim was shared by several other X users.

Fact Check

Alt News ran a keyword search on Google, which led us to this news report by The Economic Times.

The report clearly mentions that the Andhra Pradesh government revoked a previous government order (GO) issued on October 21, 2023, for the purpose of maintaining good governance, protecting Waqf properties, and ensuring the smooth functioning of the Waqf Board. It also said that the earlier board, which had come into existence by dint of the previous GO, “had been non-functional for a long time and faced legal challenges.”

According to the report, the GO No. 75 (pic below), which sparked off the viral claims upon its release on November 30, mentions that the chief executive officer of the state Waqf Board had brought to the government’s attention the prolonged non-functioning of the 11-member Board formed under the YSR Congress. The coalition government in power, thus aims to address the vacuum in the functioning of the Waqf Board, by introducing a new GO that withdraws the previous one, issued in October 2023.

Another report, by India TV, reiterates that the new government order is expected to provide a legal framework for the reconstitution of the Waqf Board, with a focus on proper governance and transparency. It is thus evident that the Waqf Board has not been permanently dissolved in the state of Andhra Pradesh, contrary to the claims on social media. It also quotes the Andhra Pradesh minister for law and minority welfare, Mohammed Farooq, as clarifying that “The government will take all necessary steps to protect and manage Wakf properties transparently and effectively. The welfare of minorities is a top priority for the current government.”

Journalist Anusha Ravi Sood (@anusharavi10) shared a clarification on X, calling attention to the fact that new members would be added to a newly constituted Waqf Board in Andhra Pradesh, following the disbandment of the previous one, which was riddled with organisational deficiencies. She also states in her caption that ‘The NDA (TDP, JSP, BJP) government has not abolished the board.’

Moreover, the official fact-checking unit of the Andhra Pradesh government issued a notice of clarification in reply to Amit Malviya’s tweet. It clearly states that the previous GO had to be withdrawn through the new order released on November 30, citing challenges to its validity, and including ‘…the absence of adequate representation from Sunni and Shia scholars, the non-inclusion of former MPs, the appointment of junior advocates without transparent criteria, questions surrounding the eligibility of certain members, and the inability to elect a chairman owing to ongoing litigation.’

To sum up, the social media claim that the Andhra Pradesh government has permanently done away with the Waqf Board is misleading. The state government has issued an order that withdraws a previous order made under the YSRCP, and has made promises of constituting a functional Waqf Board at the earliest.

Prantik Ali is associated with Alt News.

This article has been republished from Alt News under a Creative Commons licence.

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