AP Waqf board members skip meeting over chairman’s ‘unilateral’ decisions

Vijayawada: All members of AP State Waqf Board stayed away from the board meeting on Thursday. This is perhaps the first time that all members of the board had stayed away from the meeting. Interestingly, all members belonged to the ruling NDA.Sources said the members stayed away in protest against the "unilateral" decisions taken by board chairman Abdul Azeez. According to Waqf board rules, the agenda for any meeting must be circulated to members at least 10 days in advance. The members were reportedly informed about the meeting only through a WhatsApp message sent at around 11 pm on Wednesday night, barely 12 hours before the scheduled meeting time. This triggered strong resentment among members, who expressed anger over what they termed an "arbitrary and disrespectful" approach by the board chairman.Members questioned how they could be expected to attend an important statutory meeting with such short notice, communicated informally through WhatsApp. Sources said the govt earlier also expressed serious displeasure over some decisions taken by the Waqf board chairman, warning against actions that could harm minority interests or bring disrepute to the govt. Senior officials reportedly cautioned him against his arbitrary functioning and advised adherence to established procedures.When contacted, Waqf board CEO Mohammed Ali said some members abstained from the meeting due to personal reasons. "There is no truth in saying that all members boycotted the meeting. A few members attended the meeting," Ali told TOI. He, however, refused to share the details.Meanwhile, the YSRCP minority wing staged a protest near the Waqf board office, opposing the coalition govt's move to take over Waqf properties. Former MLA Hafeez Khan, MLC Ruhulla, Guntur city YSRCP president Noori Fatima, and members of the party's minority cell participated in the protest.Hafeez Khan alleged that while chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu had promised to protect the properties and rights of minorities, the state govt supported the new Waqf Board Act in the Lok Sabha instead of opposing it. Noori Fatima alleged that there is an attempt to encroach upon Waqf properties in Guntur city.