'Stop all Waqf land registrations till...': Karnataka BJP leader tells Amit Shah, claims Hindu properties not being spared

Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka requested Union Home Amit Shah to instruct the Chief Secretary of Karnataka to stop all registrations and land transactions involving the Waqf Board in the state till the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, completes its proceedings.

In his letter to Shah, Ashoka cited various incidents wherein the Karnataka Waqf Board transferred the land ownership to Waqf hastily. He alleged that Karnataka Waqf Board is committing atrocities on farmers to register lands claimed by the board. 

He said that the Siddaramaiah government and the state Waqf Board are allegedly altering revenue records and transferring the ownership of farmers' land to the Waqf. "This hurried whitewashing and registering of unjust claims of land to Waqf Boards will deprive thousands of farmers and poor people of Karnataka of their just and ancestral property rights," the letter read. 

He added that the issue came to light after notices were sent to farmers claiming approximately 15,000 acres of land in Vijayapura district, while adding the Waqf is claiming around 10,000 acres of land in each district of Karnataka in this clandestine manner. 

In his letter, he mentioned that the board is also claiming lands belonging to temples, Mutts, and other religious organisations. Ashoka further claimed that even the grave yards belonging to the Hindu community are not being spared. 

"The 13th century Virakta Mutt's 1.28 acres land in Sindagi, the historical Someshwara temple in Vijayapura, the Beeradevara temple in Kalaburagi, and several other temples across Karnataka are reportedly being claimed by the Waqf board," Ashoka mentioned in the letter. 

He said that hasty attempts to register properties claimed by the Waqf Board has caused panic among people, even leading to violence in Haveri district. Meanwhile, the Waqf Amendment Bill aims to reform the registration process for Waqf properties through a centralised system. 

The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in August this year and is currently under deliberation by the JPC.