Chairperson of the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker, Jagdambika Pal, on Thursday said he has come to Karnataka to meet aggrieved farmers whose lands were allegedly marked as Waqf properties.
As part of his trip to the southern state, Pal was scheduled to visit Hubballi, Vijayapura and Belagavi to meet farmers and members of various organisations, amid allegations that their lands were being claimed by the Karnataka Waqf Board, as well as to gather information for JPC’s report on the proposed Waqf law.
“As chairman of Waqf board JPC, I have come to Hubballi to meet farmers. They are saying that despite being the bona fide owners of the land, the (Waqf) board is claiming ownership,” Pal told reporters in Hubballi.
Also Read | Waqf land row: JPC Chairman ‘on fact finding mission’ in Karnataka, to meet farmers
Pal further said that BJP lawmaker Tejasvi Surya, who accompanied him, had told him about the “grave situation” and requested him to come to Hubballi and Vijayapura to investigate.
“We will enquire and prepare a report. We have come here for fact-finding. We will also meet various farmers’ organisations from Hubballi and Vijayapura,” the senior BJP leader added.
The visit by the JPC chairperson comes amid allegations by a section of farmers from Vijayapura district that their lands were marked as Waqf properties. Similar allegations have also surfaced a few other places and some Hindu organisations and mutts also levelled charges of their land being claimed by the Waqf board.
Also Read | Opposition MPs write to Birla against Waqf JPC chief
With the row escalating, chief minister Siddaramaiah directed officials that all notices issued to farmers be immediately revoked, and any unauthorised amendments in land records without due notice must also be nullified.
Reacting to the JPC chief’s visit, Karnataka minister and Congress leader MB Patil termed it a “political drama” staged by the BJP.
“What I have come to know is that the chairman of the JPC committee is visiting Vijayapura. Let him come. The deputy commissioner will provide all the necessary information. The BJP is merely attempting to stage a political drama,” Patil claimed.
In Hubballi, several delegations mainly led by BJP leaders submitted their representations to Pal, alleging that lands were being “incorrectly” categorised as Waqf properties. A formal complaint was submitted to the JPC chief by former minister and senior BJP leader Govind Karjol — the head of party’s fact-finding committee on the Waqf issue in Vijayapura — who alleged that chief minister Siddaramaiah had instructed officials to alter property records in favour of the Waqf Board.
Karjol claimed that the committee also found that some historical sites, including the 12th-century Sindhagi mutt, a temple belonging to the period of Chalukyas, were mentioned as waqf properties in land records.
Advocate Jirali (who goes by single name), who is also part of the BJP’s fact-finding committee, alleged that the changes in land records were executed without formal notice to landowners.
“Mutations were changed without giving any notice, citing an old order of the Waqf Board,” Jirali claimed, alleging it was done on the deputy commissioner’s oral order.
Pramod Mutalik, president of Sri Rama Sene, a Hindu right-wing outfit, also complained to Pal that 240 houses in Belagavi district have allegedly been registered as Waqf property. A representation was also submitted by Ravindranath Doddameti, on behalf of 200 farmers, alleging that 774 acres of their farmlands were declared as Waqf properties. Farmers from Haveri, Gadag, and Dharwad, along with Hindu Jagarana Vedike members, also submitted similar grievances.
Talking to reporters, Jagdambika Pal said he was committed to open dialogue on the issue. “We provide everyone the opportunity to speak, regardless of whether they are from the government or the Opposition. The government referred the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 to the JPC to engage with as many stakeholders as possible… I believe that such extensive outreach has never been undertaken by any JPC before,” he said, highlighting the importance of public input on the bill.