Wakf Bill JPC Chairperson to visit Hubballi and Vijayapura on November 7 to interact with farmers in Karnataka

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has made it clear that the notices issued to farmers would be withdrawn and ownership changes effected in RTCs will be cancelled. He termed the BJP protest as a politically motivated action.

The ongoing controversy over Wakf Board claiming ownership of farmland of various farmers in Karnataka has taken a new turn with the chairperson of the Joint Parliamentary Committee looking into the Wakf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, deciding to visit Vijayapura and Hubballi on November 7 to interact with the affected farmers.  

JPC Chairperson Jagdambika Pal will be visiting Karnataka following a petition by BJP MP Tejasvi Surya who had appealed to him to hear the grievances of the affected farmers.  

“Chairman of JPC on waqf has kindly consented to my request to visit Hubballi and Vijayapura on November 7 to interact with farmers affected by the waqf’s predatory action. Chairman will interact with farmer organisations, mutts, and petitions given to him will be placed before JPC,” the Bengaluru South MP posted on social media on November 5.

In his letter to the JPC Chairperson on October 29, Mr. Surya had alleged, “These farmers, who have cultivated their land for nearly a century, maintain records dating back to the 1920s and 1930s. In recent months, however, many of them have been served notices declaring their lands as waqf property, without any accompanying evidence or explanation. The scale of these claims is substantial, with nearly 1,500 acres being designated as waqf property in their village alone.” 

The opposition BJP has launched a campaign against the Wakf Board’s initiative and had held a statewide protest on November 4.  It has called upon farmers not to allow the waqf officials to enter their land, and has also urged the authorities concerned to amend the Wakf Act to clip the wings of the Waqf Board. 

On his part, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has made it clear that the notices issued to farmers would be withdrawn and ownership changes effected in RTCs will be cancelled. He termed the BJP protest as a politically motivated action.

The waqf row has erupted in the run-up to the by-elections to three Assembly constituencies in Karnataka that are scheduled on November 13.