BENGALURU : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader CT Ravi said on Monday that the names of Congress leaders mentioned in the report submitted by former Minority Commission Chairman Anwar Manippady regarding Waqf property encroachments.
CT Ravi said that if Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is taking Anwar Manippady’s allegations against BJP State President BY Vijayendra seriously, he should launch an inquiry into the matter.
“Anwar Manippady gave a statement, and if CM Siddaramaiah takes those statements seriously, he can take action and inquire who acquired the 1,000-acre land. There is no BJP leader’s name in the Anwar Manippady report. The names of senior Congress leaders are there in the list,” said CT Ravi.
This comes after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday accused BJP State President BY Vijayendra of trying to bribe Anwar Manippady, the former Minority Commission Chairman.
Earlier in the day, Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, DK Shivakumar said that the former Chairman of the State Minorities Commission Anwar Manippady was doing a U-turn due to political pressures.
Speaking to reporters at Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, he said, “I watched Anwar Manippady’s statements on social media. He had said that he had written to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. The Chief Minister has also quoted his statements in a tweet. The records won’t go anywhere, let him release the documents before we do.”
He was replying to queries on Anwar Manippady retracting his statement. When asked about CM’s statement that the investigation must be handed over to the CBI, he replied, “All facts are before us. Let the CBI write to the state government seeking permission to investigate, we will think about it then. We will not hand this over to the CBI. The BJP knows this and hence is seeking a CBI inquiry.”
Asked why so much confusion is being created about this issue, he said, “You are the one who is creating the confusion. You have reported what Anwar said and the CM has also quoted his statement in a tweet. Anwar has been made to issue a new statement to cover it up. The media should investigate it.”
Asked about Anwar’s statement that Congress leaders had made an offer to him, he said, “He should have said this earlier itself. What is the use of saying it now? What one says in power is more important.”Earlier BJP State President BY Vijayendra Yediyurappa had promised to address allegations of bribery regarding the Wakf property issue during the upcoming legislative session.
Speaking on the matter, Yediyurappa firmly denied the allegations, stating, “CM Siddaramaiah and the Congress party are making fools of themselves by raising the Anwar Manippady issue. Today I am going to raise this issue in the House because the minister Priyanka Kharge has alleged that I was ready to give Rs 150 crore to close the Wakf issue. It is my duty to answer the query, I am going to answer in the House. I will put the facts before the House.” (ANI)