Waqf: JPC chairman Jagdambika Pal says developments in Karnataka are a matter of concern

To a query that he should have met the farmers with all other members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, Jagdambika Pal said that it was not necessary as he would be placing their representations before the JPC.

Member of Parliament and chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 Jagdambika Pal has said that what is happening in Karnataka with regard to Waqf Board claiming ownership of various properties, including religious institutions, is a matter of concern and he would place the matter before the JPC.

Addressing press persons after hearing grievances of farmers and BJP leaders in Hubballi on November 7, Jagdambika Pal said that he had received memoranda from various groups on even historical temples and lands that were cultivated for decades being declared as waqf property without issuing any notice.

“It is as if a drive is being carried out in Karnataka. Not only the properties are being claimed as properties of Waqf Board but also mutations are being changed, that too without giving any notices. How is it possible? Who is responsible? Such steps cannot be taken without the involvement of the administration,” he said.

Referring to the Karnataka government’s announcement that notices would be withdrawn and that farmers would not be evicted, Mr. Pal said that while the government had issued the statement, mutations had already been done in the land records, which is a matter of concern.

Mr. Pal said that after Member of Parliament Tejasvi Surya, also a member of the JPC, brought to his notice the developments in Karnataka, he had come to hear the grievances of the aggrieved farmers. He had received around 70 representations from various groups and from Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, and the fact-finding committee of the BJP. Their representations would be placed before the JPC and they would be called to appear before the committee to air their grievances, he said.

Apart from the developments in Karnataka, there were other contentious issues with regard to the Waqf Board. JPC members had visited Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and other places to hear the various stakeholders, including experts on the issue, board members and government authorities. JPC members were set to visit Guahati, Patna, Kolkata and other places in the coming days, he said.

To a query on the whole programme of receiving representations being converted into a BJP event, Mr. Pal said that it was not so. Apart from BJP leaders, several farmers’ delegations and individuals had submitted memoranda on their grievances.