‘He has to go to Pakistan…’: BJP leader Jagadish Shettar attacks Zameer Ahmed Khan’s remarks on Waqf Act

HUBBALLI: Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jagadish Shettar on Tuesday attacked state Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan and said that if the latter thinks that he is not going to implement the Waqf Amendment Act in the state, then he has to go to Pakistan.

“I think Zameer Ahmed is thinking that he is in Pakistan. He is a responsible minister for the Siddaramaiah Government. Parliament has made the decision…Whenever a bill is passed by the majority, cleared by the parliament, and given assent by the president, it has to be obeyed by every state, and Karnataka has to obey and implement whatever the content of the Waqf Act is. It is mandatory…If he thinks that he is not going to, he has to go to Pakistan,” Shettar reporters.

Earlier on Sunday, the Karnataka Minister voiced strong opposition to the Waqf Amendment Act, saying that the Karnataka government has decided not to implement this law in the state.

“Mamata Banerjee, Tamil Nadu CM, Kerala and Karnataka government have made a decision regarding the Waqf Amendment Act that it is not acceptable to us. This bill should not have passed, but it has passed. But we will solve the problem through the court. I am sure we will get justice in the court… We will not implement in Karnataka,” Khan said.

The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, came into force on April 8. After a 12-hour discussion, the Upper House cleared the bill, with 128 members voting in favour and 95 members voting against it.

#WATCH | On Karnataka Minister B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan’s “We will not implement Waqf Amendment Act in Karnataka” statement, BJP MP Jagadish Shettar says, “I think Zameer Ahmed is thinking that he is in Pakistan. He is a responsible minister in Siddaramaiah Government…Parliament… pic.twitter.com/9QOC3hAcJM

— ANI (@ANI) April 15, 2025

The act aims to modify the Waqf Act, 1995 and the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2013. The 1995 act and the 2013 amendment laid out rules to govern the Waqf properties in India; created special courts (called Waqf Tribunals) with powers similar to civil courts (Tribunal decisions cannot be challenged in civil courts); and prohibited the sale of Waqf properties.

The opposition is criticising the implementation of the act, and several petitions filed in the Supreme Court have challenged it.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi, Congress MPs Mohammad Jawed and Imran Pratapgarhi, AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan, MP and President of the Azad Samaj Party Chandra Shekhar Azad, Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal Zia Ur Rehman Barq, President of the Islamic cleric’s body Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind Maulana Arshad Madani, Kerala Sunni scholars’ body Samastha Kerala Jamiatul Ulema, Social Democratic Party of India, Indian Union Muslim League, and NGO Association for Protection of Civil Rights have already approached the top court against the Act. (ANI)