Of the 11,204 Karnataka farmers who obtained waqf board notices over land encroachment, round 81 per cent are Muslims and solely 2,080 farmers belong to the Hindu neighborhood, the state authorities mentioned within the Meeting on Wednesday.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah mentioned the Authorities would type a committee led by a retired excessive courtroom decide to evaluate whether or not temples and land cultivated by farmers are on waqf belongings. He added that the waqf board wouldn’t stake a declare to any temple or land being cultivated by farmers.
Income Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, who responded on behalf of the Authorities, mentioned that of the agricultural land spanning round three crore acres within the state, solely 4,500 acres of waqf land—out of its over 20,000 acres—was cultivable. “This quantities to solely 0.006 per cent of the full land beneath cultivation,” the minister mentioned, accusing the Opposition BJP of spreading canards that Muslims have been encroaching on Hindus’ land.
The waqf guidelines have been in place within the nation earlier than Independence. A 1974 gazette notification within the state had pegged the full waqf land at 1.12 lakh acres. Nonetheless, the board presently has solely 20,054 acres, as a big portion of the land was handed over to farmers following the implementation of the Land Income Act and the Inam Abolition Act, the minister defined.
His response got here after the BJP staged a walkout, insisting that Housing, Waqf and Minority Affairs Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan reply to all queries raised by the Opposition and demanding that the 1974 notification be withdrawn. The chief minister refused, stating that the notification was primarily based on the Waqf Act of the Central authorities.
BJP MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal—who had spearheaded one of many two BJP campaigns demanding the abolition of the waqf board—was absent within the Home in the course of the minister’s response. Moreover, just a few JD(S) legislators didn’t stroll out with their NDA allies, although they’d backed the BJP throughout different walkouts within the ongoing winter session. JD(S) legislature occasion chief Suresh Babu mentioned the MLAs stayed again to debate essential points.
Khan had mentioned that in its two phrases, 2008-13 and 2019-23, the BJP authorities had issued 4,667 notices of waqf land encroachment, whereas the Congress governments served 3,286 notices. The notices are primarily based on numerous Supreme Court docket orders that pressed for the safety of waqf properties throughout the nation, he added.
In response to Opposition claims that encroachment notices have been being issued to temples, the minister mentioned the Authorities wouldn’t take any motion towards temples in the event that they have been discovered to be on waqf land.
Siddaramaiah then intervened to state that he had directed the withdrawal of any notices served to temples and farmers. He additionally pointed to the BJP manifesto for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the place the saffron occasion had promised to clear all waqf land encroachments.
A heated alternate occurred between the treasury and Opposition benches as Chief of the Opposition R Ashoka and others insisted that both Khan or Siddaramaiah tackle all of the issues raised by BJP legislators final week within the Meeting. The ruling occasion protested, stating that Gowda additionally wanted to offer a response, because the notices have been issued by officers of the income division.
Later, the demand to withdraw the 1974 notification grew to become a bone of competition. When Ashoka pushed for its withdrawal, the chief minister requested why the BJP had not achieved so throughout its previous two tenures.
Siddaramaiah later mentioned your complete waqf row was politically motivated, including that the state authorities had no powers to vary a central Act.
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