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Idgah Maidan row: Revenue min says land belongs to dept
The controversy surrounding the land began after a few Hindu right wing activists enquired with the civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) seeking the status of the land.
Amid the ongoing row over the Idgah Maidan ownership, Karnataka revenue minister R Ashoka said on Monday said that the land belongs to the revenue department and it will decide on its usage.
Following the development, a right-wing outfit sought demolition of the religious structure.
Seeking to end the controversy over Wakf Board claiming right over the ‘Idgah Maidan’ at Chamarajpet, the minister said the department will decide how it should be used.
The controversy surrounding the land began after a few Hindu right wing activists enquired with the civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) seeking the status of the land. The BBMP in its reply told them initially that the records show the land belongs to it.Further, claims and counter-claims by BBMP and the Wakf Board started. To resolve the issue, the BBMP had referred the matter to the revenue department.
“The land, which is referred to by different names by people, actually belongs to the revenue department. The revenue records show that it does not belong to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) or any ‘Board’,” Ashoka told reporters.
Previously, the Muslim community had claimed that the land belongs to the Wakf Board while a few others had said that land belongs to the BBMP.
Meanwhile, an order, dated August 6, read that the Karnataka State Board of Auqaf (Wakf) was given seven days to furnish the document claiming ownership to the land. The time allotted for them to appear before the BBMP with the required documentation was extended for an additional five days since they failed to do so earlier.
The order stated that the Wakf board members had only presented the Supreme Court judgement, which was insufficient despite several extensions. The BBMP stated that the Supreme Court judgement from 1964 only granted congregational rights to the Muslim community and did not confer ownership rights, because the board had not provided the necessary documentation showing ownership.
Meanwhile,Hindu outfit Vishwa Sanatan Parishad president Bhaskaran on Monday said that when there was a declaration that the Idgah Maidan is a property of the state government, then why should there be an Idgah tower in Idgah Maidan of the Chamarajpet locality of Bengaluru.
“We will write a letter to BBMP and state government and also file a petition before the high court making the state government and revenue department as parties to take down Idgah tower,” Bhaskaran explained.
“If Idgah tower is allowed to stand there, which is now a property of the revenue department, it will create a permanent problem and lead to communal clashes. It will lead to the murders of Hindus. We all know how violence flared up after laser light was flashed on a mosque during Ganesh festival in Hubballi city (in 1994). Hence, the Idgah tower must be demolished in the interest of society,” he added.
Meanwhile, Wakf Board chairman Shafi Saadi said that the board will wage a legal battle against the decision of BBMP. “The Supreme Court has given a verdict in 1964 that Idgah Maidan is the property of the Wakf Board and the decision is not tenable and the order amounts to contempt of court,” he had said.
