Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said that no farmer will be evicted from their land in Vijayapura district. The Chief Minister also said that the advisories issued to farmers will be withdrawn. Some farmers in Vijayapura district have claimed that their lands have been marked as Waqf property. Siddaramaiah said: ‘No farmer will be evicted from his land. Yesterday, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, Industry Minister and Vijayapura District Minister in charge MB Patil and Waqf Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan jointly said that no farmer in Vijayapura will be evicted from their land.
‘Out of 1200 acres, only 11 acres are owned by the Waqf’
CM Siddaramaiah said in Bengaluru that if notices have been issued to farmers, they will be withdrawn. On the issue of similar notices issued to farmers in Yadgir and Dharwad districts, he said, ‘I will ask the Revenue Minister to look into it. Farmers will not be evicted anywhere. Let us tell you that regarding the marking of 1,200 acres of land in Honavada of Tikota taluk as Waqf property, Industry Minister MB Patil had recently said that this happened due to a “mistake”. He also said that out of 1200 acres, only 11 acres are owned by the Waqf.
‘Notices were sent to farmers even during the BJP government’
Patil had said that a task force would be formed under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner to resolve the issues. Meanwhile, Patil on Tuesday accused the BJP of propagating “false Hindu love” through misinformation and claimed that the BJP was in power when the Waqf Board issued notices to farmers in Vijaypura district between 2019 and 2022. Patil published copies of advertisements issued during the BJP government in ‘X’ and criticized the opposition party, saying it indulged in ‘divisive politics’ instead of focusing on the development of the state during its tenure.
Minister accused BJP of misleading people
The minister said, “The BJP misled people on issues like Hijab, Halal and ‘Urigowda-Nanjegowda’ while it was in power.” Even now they continue with the same tactics. Their efforts to mislead the public through fabricated narratives will no longer succeed. He said the BJP has reconstituted its inquiry committee on the Waqf issue, which was initially constituted by party president BY Vijayendra after harsh criticism from party leader Basanagouda Patil Yatnal. The Industries Minister said the inclusion of Yatnal and MP Ramesh Jigajinagi in the committee seemed cosmetic and reflected the party’s differences.
‘Ancestral lands suddenly declared Waqf property’
Patil challenged the BJP to explain why notices were issued to farmers during its government. Earlier in the day, Vijayendra attacked the ruling Congress for accusing the BJP of playing politics. He said: ‘The farmers’ ancestral land was suddenly declared the property of the Waqf. What to do if farmers do not take to the streets? Congress is busy appeasing minorities and dividing the country in the name of religion. She’s been doing this for a long time. They are trying to fan the flames in the state under the leadership of Zameer Ahmed Khan (Waqf Minister).
‘If the BJP had not taken this issue seriously…’
Vijayendra claimed that the minister himself admitted that notices were sent to 120 farmers in this matter. He said, ‘If the BJP had not taken this issue seriously, farmers would have taken to the streets. When we raised this issue, they formed a task force and asked the farmers to contact the deputy commissioner. The BJP state president said a team formed by the party under the leadership of former deputy chief minister Govind Karjol has reached Vijaypura district. Union Minister Pralhad Joshi also lashed out at Khan and cited Anwar Manappadi’s report, which claimed that several Congress leaders were “earning crores of rupees by claiming Waqf properties as their own”.
“My personal opinion is that the Waqf law should be scrapped”
Joshi demanded suspension of tehsildars issuing notices to farmers and registration of cases against responsible officials. Joshi said, “Anyone can claim whatever is happening in this country.” My personal opinion is that the Waqf law should be scrapped, but the Modi government is bringing positive changes in it. Janata Dal (S) leader and Union minister HD Kumaraswamy said in Ramanagara that the truth should come to light about “looting of government or farmers’ land” in the name of Waqf properties. (Language)
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