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BJP begins stir on Waqf, CM brings up ‘double standards’
Amid the ongoing dispute over Waqf landa, CM Siddaramaiah on Monday challenged the protests by BJP and accused the party of inconsistency in its stance on waqf property management
Amid the ongoing dispute over Waqf land in Karnataka, chief minister Siddaramaiah on Monday challenged the protests by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and accused the party of inconsistency in its stance on waqf property management.
Responding to demonstrations led by the BJP over alleged encroachment of farmers’ lands by the Waqf Board, Siddaramaiah questioned why the BJP itself had issued similar waqf property notices during its rule. He also said that his administration has already withdrawn the notices to ease farmers’ concerns.
Speaking at Hubballi Airport on Monday before departing for a campaign event, Siddaramaiah called out former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai for his contradictory statements.
“BJP never addresses real issues, only makes baseless accusations for political mileage. Bommai previously supported the recovery of encroached waqf land; now, he is speaking against it purely for politics,” he said.
The BJP held a state-wide protest on Monday accusing the Congress-led government of practising “land jihad” by allegedly allowing the Waqf Board to claim agricultural lands.
Siddaramaiah refuted the accusations, insisting that the Waqf land claims were not a new issue and that such notices were served even during past BJP administrations. He reaffirmed his directive to revoke the notices issued to farmers and correct any unauthorised alterations to land records.
Siddaramaiah said: “I have made it clear in a meeting with ministers HK Patil and Krishna Byre Gowda that the Waqf Board notices to farmers must be immediately cancelled, and no one, regardless of their faith, should be displaced.”
He also pointed out that during previous governments led by BJP leaders like BS Yediyurappa and Jagadish Shettar, waqf-related notices had been issued.
As part of the demonstrations against the government, prominent leaders such as Union minister Shobha Karandlaje and BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal led a sit-in protest in Vijayapura. Yatnal vowed to keep up the protests until the government fully revokes the Waqf Board’s claims on lands.
He said: “We will not give up until the issue is completely settled. If we stay strong, the lands of our farmers and Mutts will remain with us. This protest will not end here; we will take this up across Karnataka.”
Karandlaje, echoing Yatnal’s sentiments, accused the government of having a larger agenda and said: “I will sit on a day-and-night dharna in Vijayapura along with Basangouda Patil Yatnal and all those who are affected.”
“As many as 43 ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) sites have been claimed as Waqf property. If everything is claimed as Waqf, this is nothing but a conspiracy. What is happening in the state? Are you trying to bring Sharia law? This won’t happen in Karnataka,” she said.
To address the land dispute, a BJP delegation led by MP Govind Karjol submitted a report to state party president BY Vijayendra, describing concerns about waqf land claims on various properties, including temples, mutts, and other religious sites.
Besides, leader of opposition in the state assembly R Ashoka appealed to Union home minister Amit Shah, asking him to instruct the state chief secretary to halt all waqf-related land transactions until the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) concludes its deliberations on amendments to the Waqf Act.
In his letter, Ashoka said, “In Karnataka, hasty attempts are being made to register lands claimed by the Waqf Board, possibly in anticipation of amendments by the JPC. This hurried whitewashing and registering of unjust claims of land to Waqf Boards will deprive thousands of farmers and poor people of Karnataka of their just and ancestral property rights.”
Ashoka further said that recent land claims by the Waqf Board could impact up to 15,000 acres in Vijayapura district alone, with an additional 10,000 acres per district affected across Karnataka.
