Bengaluru: The Karnataka government warned officials who alter land mutation records or serve eviction notices to farmers under the Waqf Act will face disciplinary action. This follows a directive from chief minister Siddaramaiah, who responded to complaints about land transfer to the Karnataka Board of Waqfs, sparking controversy and political debate.
In a letter, Rajender Kumar Kataria, principal secretary of the revenue department, instructed district officials to retract previous orders, if any, related to altering mutation records. This decision comes after a meeting led by Siddaramaiah, addressing concerns over eviction notices served to farmers in several areas, including Honwad village in Vijayapura, where the Waqf Board allegedly claimed rights over agricultural land.
Minister for industries M B Patil announced that 423 eviction notices issued by the Waqf Board to farmers have been rescinded. "The chief minister has directed the withdrawal of all notices to farmers. We will not allow any property belonging to farmers, religious places, or the public to be taken over by the Waqf Board," he stated.
Patil also accused the previous BJP government of issuing circulars targeting Waqf property encroachments and forming a task force on that, asserting that the Congress government is now correcting these "mistakes".
Law and parliamentary affairs minister H K Patil reassured citizens that Karnataka's legal framework, including the Land Reforms Act, is strong. "No one can seize land from farmers. The opposition is misleading people to create religious and caste-based divisions," he said.
Deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar and minister Zameer Ahmed Khan criticised the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) chief Jagadambika Pal’s recent tour to meet farmers, calling it a politically motivated attempt to mislead the public.
Congress leaders have accused the BJP of using the Waqf land issue for electoral gain in the upcoming by-polls in Karnataka and the assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand.
The Waqf land controversy has sparked internecine concerns within the Congress, with about two dozen MLAs writing to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge urging the leadership to address the issue quickly to prevent alienation of non-Muslim voters, stating that BJP was leveraging the controversy to polarise voters.
In a related development, police lodged an FIR against BJP MP Tejasvi Surya for allegedly spreading false claims that a farmer in Haveri district died by suicide due to Waqf property issues. FIRs were also filed against editors of Kannada Dunia and Kannada News e-papers, which reported on the alleged incident.
Facing pressure from farmers and opposition, the Siddaramaiah government has assured the public that no farmers will lose their land due to Waqf claims. Ministers, including DK Shivakumar, have repeatedly clarified that eviction notices have been withdrawn and BJP is using the issue to polarise voters.
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