Vijayendra and Yatnal announce parallel programmes over waqf land issue ahead of winter session of legislature

Vijayendra announces that three fact-finding committees will tour Karnataka, while Yatnal and others aver that they will start a ‘Jana Jagruti Jatha’ over the same issue from November 25, pointing to factions within 

Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is trying to put the Karnataka government on the mat over the waqf land controversy, in the run-up to the winter session of the State legislature to be held in Belagavi, differences within the party’s State unit seem to simmering.

On Friday, party’s State president B.Y. Vijayendra and dissident leader Basanagouda Patil R. Yatnal announced parallel tours of the State over the waqf land controversy.

Mr. Vijayendra announced the formation of three fact-finding committees that will tour Karnataka as part of a campaign called ‘Namma Bhoomi-Namma Hakku’ over the waqf land issues. Hours before that, a group of leaders, led by Mr. Yatnal, announced a ‘Jana Jagruti Jatha’ over the same issue from November 25.

Control room

Rebel leaders, including Mr. Yatnal, Ramesh Jarkiholi, and Arvind Limbavali, met at Kumar Bangarappa’s Bengaluru residence on Friday and announced the jatha. Mr. Limbavali also announced that they have formed a control room to process complaints of alleged claims of waqf board over farmers’ land. He named former MPs Pratap Simha, G.M. Siddeshwar, and Annasaheb Jolle, among others, as supporters of the jatha. 

When quizzed whether this was part of the party’s programme, Mr. Yatnal said this was indeed a “BJP programme” and he would invite the State president, through the media, to join the same. It may be recalled that Mr. Yatnal and Mr. Jarkiholi have openly rebelled against the leadership of Mr. Vijayendra and called for his ouster.

While in the past, Mr. Yatnal and Mr. Jarkiholi were not allowed to hold a separate padayatra over the alleged scam in the Valmiki development corporation, parallel to Mysuru Chalo over the alleged MUDA scam led by Mr. Vijayendra, they were not allowed to carry it out. This time, the group has gone ahead with the announcement of a parallel tour.

Three committees

The three committees formed by the State unit will be led by Opposition leaders in the State legislature R. Ashok, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, and Mr. Vijayendra. Interestingly, it includes Mr. Yatnal, Mr. Jarkiholi, and Mr. Limbavali as part of the teams. Others part of these fact-finding committees include Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, and former Chief Ministers Jagadish Shettar, Basavaraj Bommai, and D.V. Sadananda Gowda.

An earlier fact-finding committee over waqf land issues that visited Vijayapura district did not include Mr. Yatnal, a local MLA. Following a row, the team was reconstituted to include him.

When quizzed over a parallel jatha announced by Mr. Yatnal, Mr. Vijayendra tried to downplay the issue and said he was not embarrassed by the former’s announcement. “Why should anyone be embarrassed over a partyman fighting for the farmers?” he asked. However, he stressed that the party has decided to take up the struggle over waqf land issues in two phases, fact-finding committees touring the State and a rally of affected farmers in Belagavi ahead of the legislature session.

Published - November 15, 2024 10:22 pm IST