Waqf property row: "BJP doing political drama," says Karnataka minister MB Patil

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], November 6 (ANI): Karnataka Minister MB Patil stated on Wednesday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is engaging in "political drama" amid the ongoing row over Waqf properties.
"What I have come to know is that the chairman of the JPC committee is visiting Vijayapura. Let him come. The deputy commissioner will provide all the necessary information. The BJP is merely attempting to stage a political drama," Minister Patil said.
The Karnataka Minister also referenced a statement made by the former Minority Affairs Minister, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, on the floor of the House.
He continued, "In 2019, Shobha Karandlaje posed a question to Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. He provided a statement in the House, saying, 'GIS mapping of Waqf properties is being carried out effectively and progressively in various states by the State Waqf Board, IIT Roorkee, and AMU Aligarh, aiming to digitise 100 per cent of Waqf properties.' This was the BJP's stance in 2019, which has been implemented. Now, the BJP is engaging in this drama."
The Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf Amendment Bill, Jagdambika Pal, is scheduled to meet with protesting farmers in Bijapur and Hubballi in Karnataka on 7 November.
His visit follows a controversy over notices designating farmers' land as Waqf land in areas like Hubballi and Bijapur.
Several BJP leaders are staging a sit-in protest there. BJP MP Tejasvi Surya wrote to the JPC Chairman about the issue.
"Chairman of the JPC on Waqf has kindly agreed to my request to visit Hubli and Bijapur on 7 November to interact with farmers affected by Waqf's predatory actions," Tejasvi Surya posted on X.
"The chairman will engage with farmer organisations, Mutts, and the petitions presented to him will be reviewed by the JPC," he added.
Reacting to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's decision to retract all notices related to Waqf land, Jagdambika Pal remarked that this move amounts to an admission that the government issued these notices "mistakenly."
"By taking this step, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has acknowledged that Waqf notices were wrongly issued on farmers' land... I am going to Karnataka on 7 November to assess how the state government can issue notices on such a large scale," Pal told ANI.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has alleged that the Waqf designation was added to land records for 44 properties across Indi and Chadachan taluks in Vijayapura district without due notification, following a meeting between Karnataka Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan and district officials.
Many farmers, unaware of these sudden Record of Rights, Tenancy, and Crops (RTC) changes, have voiced concerns over the potential loss of ancestral land.
On Monday, CM Siddaramaiah announced that he has instructed officials to cease issuing notices to farmers and to withdraw those already issued.
Addressing a public gathering, CM Siddaramaiah said, "The previous BJP government also issued notices to those illegally occupying Waqf properties. Now, I have directed my officials to stop issuing notices to farmers and to retract the notices already given." (ANI)