Page 11 - Waqf Board

BJP's CT Ravi demands revocation of Waqf board rights after K'taka protest

Amid an ongoing controversy over the Waqf Board land issue, Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders staged a protest against the state government on Saturday, demanding the removal of the term

BJP using Waqf issue as political weapon, says Karnataka HM Parmeshwara

Accusing the opposition BJP of using the Waqf issue as a "political weapon", Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Sunday warned of strict action against any attempts to disturb peace in the state. His comments come as BJP plans to intensify its fight against the Congress government over the issue in the days ahead, as the party even constituted three teams, which will visit districts and meet those affected by Waqf notices. Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar too has blamed the BJP for trying to "create communal disturbance" on the issue. "They (BJP) are using it (Waqf issue) as a political weapon. It means, there may be efforts for communal flare ups and disturbing peace. It is our allegation that they might be using their yatra (tour) for it. How things will take shape in the future, we cannot speculate now," Parameshwara told reporters here. Asked whether the ruling Congress feared that BJP would attempt to create law and order situation and pave the way for President's ru

Cong will expose BJP on Waqf issue, says Karnataka dy CM Shivakumar

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday said his party would expose the BJP on the Waqf issue as changes in revenue records favouring the Waqf Board were effected only during the Saffron party's regime. While the BJP is all set to mount pressure on the Congress government by holding a mega protest and a month long march on the Waqf issue, Shivakumar claimed that during its tenure, the BJP regime started changing the revenue records of rights, tenancy and crops in favour of the Waqf Board and many properties also were transferred in the name of that board. The BJP's opposition on the matter was "foolishness" as the government had all the related documents to pin them down, the Deputy CM told reporters. We will expose them," he asserted and added that they came to know such aspects only later. Also, the issue did not get into public domain as everyone was busy with the recent elections. From November 25 to December 25, the BJP will be on protest mode against 'Waqf .

Centre will manage Waqf property with accountability, transparency: Rijiju

He also expressed happiness that intellectuals and positive-minded individuals from the community support the amendment

Amanatullah's bail in Delhi Waqf matter exposes PM Modi's 'false case': AAP

AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan's bail in the Delhi Waqf matter has exposed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "false case", senior party leader Sanjay Singh said on Thursday. A Delhi court on Thursday ordered Khan's release in a money-laundering case related to alleged irregularities in the Delhi Waqf Board while refusing to take cognisance of a charge sheet filed against him. "Bail to Amanat. Once again, Modi's false case has been exposed. Modi ji tried all his tricks but could not eliminate Arvind Kejriwal and AAP," the party's Rajya Sabha MP Singh said in Hindi on X. Echoing his colleague, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said this was bound to happen. "All AAP leaders are out now. The truth cannot be defeated and we are going to contest the Delhi elections with full strength," he said. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on September 2 arrested Khan as part of a money-laundering investigation against him and some others linked to him. He was taken into custody under provisions of the

'No prosecution sanction': AAP's Amanatullah Khan granted bail in ED case

Directing Khan be released on a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh, Special Judge Jitendra Singh of Rouse Avenue court said that there was sufficient evidence to proceed but no prosecution sanction obtained

Waqf property occupants prior to 2013 amendment can't be prosecuted: HC

The Kerala High Court has observed that section 52A of the Waqf Act, which was inserted by an amendment in 2013, does not say that those in occupation of waqf property prior to that can be prosecuted for alienating such land without the Waqf Board's sanction. The observation by Justice P V Kunhikrishnan came while quashing the criminal proceedings against two officials of the Department of Posts for allegedly alienating waqf property without the Waqf Board's permission. The criminal proceedings were initiated against the officials on a complaint by the Kerala State Waqf Board. Quashing the criminal proceedings pending before a magisterial court in Kozhikode, the High Court said the post office was functioning on the waqf property since 1999 and section 52A of the Act does not show that a person who is in occupation of such land even prior to the insertion of the provision were liable to be prosecuted. "Hence, I am of the considered opinion that the prosecution against the petitione

Waqf row: K'taka govt warns officials issuing eviction notice to farmers

The Karnataka government has warned that disciplinary action will be taken against those officials who change the land mutation records and serve eviction notices to farmers under the Waqf Act. In a letter, the Revenue Department Principal Secretary Rajender Kumar Kataria reminded all regional commissioners and deputy commissioners in the districts that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah recently had a meeting following complaints about certain land properties being made in favour of the Karnataka Board of Waqfs. In the meeting it was decided that all the directions issued previously by any government office or authority to change the mutation records has been withdrawn, the letter said. It added that all the notices served in the past have also been withdrawn and no action should be taken against the farmers who are cultivating on the said land. On the directions of the chief minister, the previous letters and the latest reminders served on November 7 to the farmers and land owners have

JPC meeting on Waqf Bill chaired by Jagatambika Pal begins in Guwahati

The meeting is part of the JPC's study tour in five cities namely Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Patna, and Lucknow from November 9 to November 14

PM Modi trying to forcefully pass Waqf (Amendment) Bill: Sanjay Singh

Singh called the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) tour a drama and a medium to divert attention from the issues

Tejasvi Surya, Kannada news portals' editors booked for spreading fake news

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya and editors of some Kannada news portals have been booked for allegedly spreading fake news linking a farmer's suicide to land disputes with Waqf Board, police said on Friday. Sharing the article of the news portals on 'X', the Bengaluru South MP on November 7 alleged that a farmer in Haveri district died by suicide after finding his land had been taken over by the Board. "In their haste to appease minorities, CM@Siddaramaiah @BZ ZameerAhmed K have unleashed catastrophic effects in Karnataka that are becoming impossible to contain with every passing day," Surya alleged. The post was deleted by the MP later after Haveri district Superintendent of Police termed the news article as fake. "The news shared is false. No such incident was reported. The farmer mentioned here, Rudrappa Channappa Balikai suicide was reported on 06/01/2022 and it was reported due to loan and crop loss," the SP said. A case was registered under 174 CrPC in Adar police station and the fina

Waqf row: BJP submits fact-finding report on alleged land grab in Karnataka

The committee, led by BJP MP Govind M Karjol claims that there were several instances of land records being altered

Waqf row: JPC Chairman meets farmers in Karnataka, Congress lashes out

The farmers say that they have been here for almost 70 years, but despite that the Waqf board is claiming ownership of their land, Pal added

Dawoodi Bohras ask Parliamentary panel to be kept out of Waqf law

Contending that the Waqf (Amendment) Bill does not recognise their special status, the Dawoodi Bohra community, an affluent but microscopic minority sect among Muslims, told the parliamentary committee examining the proposed law that they should be kept out of the purview of any Waqf board. Senior advocate Harish Salve appeared for them before the panel headed by veteran BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, and a written submission made by the community noted that it is a "small and tightly-knit" denomination. "Its affairs do not need the kind of regulation that may be considered necessary or even desirable in relation to other denominations that do not believe in any such religious tenet," it said, according to sources. It is necessary that the community members are permitted to establish, maintain, manage and administer such properties in accordance with their beliefs and essential religious practices, it stressed. The power of the Waqf board undermines the community's founding faith, it claim

Opposition MPs may exit Waqf panel, protest against 'unilateral' actions

Opposition MPs in the parliamentary committee scrutinising the Waqf (Amendment) Bill are likely to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday over its chairperson Jagdambika Pal's alleged unilateral decisions and attempts to "bulldoze" proceedings without giving them reasonable time to prepare. Claiming that they have been "stonewalled" during the committee's proceedings, opposition MPs have written in their letter, which they circulated among themselves on Monday, to Birla that they may be forced to disassociate with the panel. Opposition sources said they are likely to meet Birla on Tuesday and put forward their grievances. Opposition members, including DMK's A Raja, Congress's Mohammad Jawed and Imran Masood, AIMIM's Asaduddin Owaisi, AAP's Sanjay Singh and TMC's Kalyan Banerjee among others, have written the joint letter addressed to the Speaker. They accused Pal, a seasoned BJP MP, of taking "unilateral decisions" on fixing the dates of sittings and at times for three consecut

Waqf properties' row: BJP's protest nothing but politics, says Siddaramaiah

Upping the ante following allegations by a section of farmers in certain parts of Karnataka that their lands were marked as Waqf properties, BJP on Monday held a state-wide protest, accusing the ruling Congress government of indulging in "land jihad". The opposition party also demanded the sacking of Waqf Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan from the Cabinet. The BJP has decided to go ahead with the protest despite Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday directing officials that all notices issued to farmers be immediately revoked, and any unauthorised amendments in land records without due notice must also be nullified. There were allegations by a section of farmers from Vijayapura district that their lands were marked as Waqf properties, and similar charges have surfaced from few other places. While BJP state President B Y Vijayendra led the protest in Ballari, Leader of Opposition in Legislative Assembly R Ashoka took part in it at K R Puram here. Similarly, various party leaders have ..

Waqf Bill: Parliament panel meets today to hear Muslim women group, others

The meetings of the JCP are part of a broader initiative to reform the Waqf Act, which has faced criticisms of mismanagement, corruption, and encroachments

Satheesan urges Kerala CM for party meet as Munambam land dispute grows

As residents of Munambam village in Ernakulam district intensified their protest against the Waqf Board's claim over their land, the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, on Monday urged Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to convene an all-party meeting to resolve the land dispute. In a statement, Satheesan said he has written to the Chief Minister requesting an all-party meeting to discuss the issue. He noted that the legal proceedings initiated by the Waqf Board to reclaim 404 acres of land in Munambam have placed over 600 families in a difficult situation. Observing that no Muslim religious organisation has claimed that the land in Munambam is Waqf property, the Leader of the Opposition demanded that the land be given to the current residents unconditionally and called for the government's urgent intervention in the matter. "This is an issue that could be resolved in 10 minutes," he said in the letter. Satheesan said that communal forces are trying to exp

Even 'crutches' will not escape responsibility if Waqf Bill passed: Jamiat

Stepping up its campaign against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind on Sunday urged TDP's Chandrababu Naidu and JD(U)'s Nitish Kumar to heed the sentiments of Muslims on the matter. It also cautioned that if the legislation is passed, the "two crutches" on which the BJP-led government is running at the Centre would not be able to escape responsibility. Jamiat chief Maulana Arshad Madani made the assertion at the prominent Muslim body's 'Save Constitution Convention' held here at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium. "People of the country defeated the BJP. They did not accept their policies. This government is dependent on two crutches - a strong one is Chandrababu and the other is Bihar's Nitish Kumar. I had invited him (Naidu), he excused himself but has sent his party's vice president Nawab Jan. I look at this positively as he will convey the sentiments of the people gathered here," Madani said, gesturing to the large gathering of Jamiat functionaries and ...

K'taka CM orders withdrawal of notices to farmers over Waqf land disputes

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday instructed officials to immediately withdraw all notices sent to farmers concerning Waqf land issues. A decision to this effect was taken during a high-level meeting, with senior officials from the Revenue department, the Minority Welfare department, and the Karnataka Board of Waqfs. "Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has issued a strict directive for the immediate retraction of all notices sent to farmers about Waqf land, emphasising that no disruption should be caused to them," a statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) read. The statement noted Siddaramaiah's dissatisfaction with recent actions by certain officials and highlighted concerns that the JD(S) and BJP were allegedly using the Waqf issue for political gains, potentially disrupting peace in the state. Siddaramaiah has urged the public to ignore any misinformation and directed officials to handle the matter with sensitivity, it added. The statement also emphasised that