BENGALURU: Bangalore South BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on Wednesday requested Jagdambika Pal, chairperson of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on Waqf amendment Bill, to call a delegation of farmers from Karnataka who have been affected by having their land allegedly being claimed as Waqf property.
Taking to his social media on X, he posted a copy of the letter and said, “Have written to the Chairperson of the JPC on Waqf Amendment Bill Jagdambika Pal, drawing attention to the plight of farmers from Vijayapura District and other areas in the vicinity in Karnataka, who have been wrongfully served notices claiming their land as Waqf property”
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“Requested him to invite a delegation of these farmers as witnesses before the committee and also to visit the affected areas for a public hearing to understand the scale of this issue firsthand”. he said.
However, Minister for Waqf and Minority Affairs, Zameer Ahmad Khan, disputed the claims of farmers getting their land encroached upon. “I will give all the details about how many notices are been served, no one can take back the land belonging to any one, specially farmers. Farmers are our feeders, how can somebody take land belong to farmers, I may be the minister, does that mean that official can convert the land belongs to farmers?”
He also criticised BJP for using this issue for elections. He told reporters, “They only take up this issue because there is elections are around. I’m not doing Waqf adalat from today, I’m doing Waqf adalat from last 11 months, we did it in Yadgir, Hubballi, Dharwad, Haveri, Gadag, Karwar, Belagavi, Vijayapura. After elections are over, I’ll do waqf adalt in other districts. They (BJP) don’t have any issues that’s why they have taken this up only for politics, as by elections are ahead, Maharastra elections they are speaking this issue now. I don’t want to speak their language, I’m a pure Hindustani indian, who’s ever lives in india are Indians”.
The Waqf land controversy is the latest flash point between Congress and the BJP, with the Chief Minister clarifying that no farmers will be evicted. “I have already made a statement. We have not issued any notice to the farmers and we are not going to evict anybody who has been in possession of the property for many years,” he said. (ANI)