Waqf land row: Karnataka withdraws notices to farmers

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah directed officials on Saturday to immediately retract all notices sent to farmers regarding Waqf land.

IMAGE: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Photograph: Siddaramaiah on Facebook

This decision followed a high-level meeting with senior officials from the Revenue Department, Minority Welfare Department, and the Karnataka Board of Waqfs.

A statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said, "Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has strictly instructed officials to withdraw all notices concerning Waqf land, ensuring farmers face no disturbance."

Siddaramaiah expressed dissatisfaction with recent actions by certain officials and noted that the Janata Dal-Secular and the Bharatiya Janata Party might be using the Waqf issue for political gain, potentially disturbing peace in the state.

He appealed to the public to ignore any misinformation and emphasised handling the matter sensitively.

All notices on land records related to Waqf properties must be retracted immediately, and officials were warned not to harass farmers regarding lands in their possession.

Siddaramaiah also ordered that unauthorised changes to land records (Pahani or RTC) should be nullified if done without proper notice or legal procedure.

Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, and senior government officials attended the meeting.

Waqf Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, in Vijayapura, reassured the public that all notices issued under the Waqf Act would be withdrawn, as he had previously informed people on Friday.

Earlier, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara stated that all district deputy commissioners have been instructed not to serve any notices to farmers under the Waqf Act.

He stated that revenue records would be treated as final and administrative actions would align accordingly.

"The chief minister has directed all deputy commissioners to withdraw any such notices or letters. The matter is now resolved, though future developments remain uncertain," Parameshwara informed reporters.

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya alleged that issues related to Waqf began after the initiation of Waqf Adalats.

According to him, the Waqf Adalat lacks legal validity.

"The problem started after Minority Welfare Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan began holding Waqf Adalats under Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's direction," said Surya, who also serves as the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha national president.

Surya claimed a District Panchayat CEO issued a letter to subordinates stating, "These steps have been taken on the directions of the Chief Minister and Waqf Minister."

He questioned the origin and legality of Waqf Adalats, asking, "Under what law, and based on which provision of the Indian Constitution, were these notices issued to farmers and properties associated with 12th-century social reformer Basaveshwara?"

The Bengaluru South MP further alleged that the Waqf Adalat is an unconstitutional invention of Congress and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Surya claimed that with an upcoming Central law under Prime Minister Narendra Modi aimed at curbing the Waqf Board's power to encroach on properties, the Karnataka government quickly moved to allocate land to Waqf.

He alleged that the government's intent behind holding Waqf Adalats was to gift thousands of acres of land to Muslims.