Waqf Property Disputes Row: JPC Chairman Jagdambika Pal Meets Protesting Farmers In Karnataka

During his visit, Jagdambika Pal was accompanied by JPC member Tejasvi Surya, who had previously raised this issue in a letter, highlighting the hardships faced by affected farmers.

The controversy escalated further with claims that the Waqf board was asserting ownership over some historic monuments, which are protected by the Archaeological Survey of India.

Source : X

Jagdambika Pal, Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, visited Karnataka on Thursday to address growing concerns among farmers regarding their lands being designated as Waqf properties. The visit comes amidst a rising controversy with farmers in districts like Hubballi and Vijayapura claiming their lands have been marked as Waqf properties without due process.

During his visit, Pal was accompanied by Bengaluru South MP and JPC member Tejasvi Surya, who had previously raised this issue in a letter, highlighting the hardships faced by affected farmers. 

Speaking to reporters, Pal stated, as per PTI, “As the Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, I have come to meet the aggrieved farmers, whose lands are being claimed. The land belonged to farmers for 50-70 years, (which) all of a sudden Waqf board is claiming. They (farmers) are agitating.”

"I have also inquired whether the land that is claimed by the Waqf board -- do you (farmers) have some bonafide title or ownership or deeds? -- they are saying that there are bonafide owners of the land, even then the Waqf board is claiming," he said.

 

#WATCH | Karnataka | The Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf Amendment Bill, Jagdambika Pal meets farmers in Hubballi

JPPC Chairman Jagdambika Pal's visit is amid controversy over notices to farmers' land as Waqf land in areas like Hubballi and… pic.twitter.com/n2UxgfFSR5

— ANI (@ANI) November 7, 2024

 

Pal received documentation from local farmers and organizations, who alleged that land records, such as the RTC (Record of Rights, Tenancy and Crops) and mutation registers, had been altered without legal protocol. The controversy escalated further with claims that the Waqf board was asserting ownership over some historic monuments, which are protected by the Archaeological Survey of India.

On Pal's visit, Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar said, "This is all a political drama...Land is a state subject. BJP themselves started this in 2019. They had given notices. Even in Dharwad, they gave notices. It is the continuation of that. But my Govt is committed, we will not change any record. We will not rectify it. We don't want to affect any farmers. This has all been started by BJP. They are trying to put the blame on us...JPC doesn't have any powers to enter, they might have come for their political purposes..."

The Karnataka government, led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, responded to the escalating tensions by ordering an immediate revocation of all notices issued to farmers regarding their lands. Siddaramaiah also directed officials to nullify any unauthorized amendments in land records that bypassed due notice and procedure.