Karnataka Waqf row: BJP MP Tejasvi Surya urges JPC Chairman to invite Vijayapura farmers to discuss land dispute

The BJP MP requested Mr. Pal to visit the affected regions in Karnataka and have a public hearing with the farmers impacted by the Waqf Board’s action.

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya has written to Chairperson of Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 Jagdambika Pal to invite farmers from Vijayapura district in Karnataka as witnesses to discuss their land disputes with Waqf Board.

Posting a copy of the letter on X (formerly Twitter), the Lok Sabha member from Bengaluru South, who is also a member of the Committee, recalled his recent meeting with a delegation of farmers from the district “who have been wrongfully served notices claiming their land as Waqf property,” he said.

“Apart from the notices, changes have been made in the RTC, pahani and mutation registers for some of the land parcels without following the due process of law,” the MP said.

In the letter, written on October 29, Mr. Surya alleged: “These farmers, who have cultivated their lands for nearly a century, maintain records dating back to the 1920s and 1930s. In recent months, however, many of them have been served notices declaring their lands as Waqf property, without any accompanying evidence or explanation. The scale of these claims is substantial, with nearly 1,500 acres being designated as Waqf property in their village alone.”

Mr. Surya requested Pal to visit the affected regions in Karnataka to receive complaints and grievances and also have a public hearing with the farmers adversely impacted by the Waqf Board’s action.

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CM accused BJP of politicising issue

Commenting on the developments around the land row, CM Siddaramaiah accused the BJP of politicising a non-issue ahead of bypolls in the State. He was responding to questions by media persons at Vidhana Soudha on the BJP gearing up to stage a protest over the Waqf land dispute.

Mr. Siddaramaiah reiterated that no notice of eviction has been issued to farmers and that no one who has possessed property will be evicted.

Background of the dispute

The issue was first raised earlier this month after some farmers from Honavad village in Vijayapura district met Mr. Surya in Bengaluru. He claimed that notices were issued to reclaim 1,500 acres of land by the waqf board in Honavad village alone. However, M.B. Patil, district in-charge Minister, and subsequently other Ministers too, have since denied it and said that 124 notices were given to around 400 farmers across the district, but none in Honavad.

Following the allegations, Chief Minister Sidddaramaiah had said that none of the farmers will be evicted, and notices issued to them will be withdrawn. On October 29, a fact-finding team of BJP leaders visited some villages in Vijayapura district to meet farmers who complained of receiving notices from the waqf board.

Govind Karjol, MP, who heads the BJP fact-finding team, interacted with farmers in Padaganur village and told reporters that in that particular village as many as 10 farmers were given notices. Mr. Karjol said that farmers had told him that the waqf board was claiming 50 acres of land in survey number 120 of Padaganur. The team is yet to visit Honavad village.

(With inputs from PTI)

Published - October 30, 2024 04:27 pm IST