Bengaluru, Nov 2: BJP National Youth President and MP Tejasvi Surya made a provocative statement on Saturday, warning that if the people of Karnataka vote for the Congress party again, all temples and mutts would be transferred to Muslims. Speaking to the media at the BJP headquarters in Bengaluru, Surya said, “If votes are given to the Congress party for freebies, all our temples, houses, and mutts will be handed over to Muslims. If you still vote for the Congress party, there won’t be any freebies in the future, and Hindu pilgrimage centres like Dharmasthala and Sringeri won’t exist.”
Surya expressed concern over what he claimed was an increasing amount of agricultural land being classified as Waqf property in the state. He alleged, “In Karnataka, the Waqf board has claimed more than 50,000 acres of land,” and warned that the situation regarding farmers’ lands being transferred to the Waqf board was unpredictable.
The MP stated that he had brought this issue to the attention of the Chairperson of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), requesting them to visit Hubballi and Bengaluru to receive petitions from farmers, with a likely visit scheduled for November 6 and 7.
He accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of directing Minister Zameer Ahmad Khan to conduct Waqf Adalats and questioned their legal basis. “Under which law is the provision for conducting the Waqf Adalat made? What is the legal standing of the Waqf Adalat? Which provision of the Constitution allows for the Waqf Adalat? The Waqf Adalat is an unconstitutional invention of the Congress party. Until the Congress party stops Waqf Adalats, the BJP will agitate,” Surya declared.
Surya added that numerous cases from South Indian states have been presented before the JPC, asserting that the Waqf board has laid claim to temples that existed long before the advent of Islam. He criticized the Congress party for allegedly empowering the Waqf board during election periods.
The central government has established a JPC to amend the Waqf Act, and Surya pointed out that countries like Egypt and Singapore have banned the Waqf. “We are not demanding a ban on Waqf. We are also not demanding their lands. Our demand is clear: let the Waqf keep the land that rightfully belongs to it, and it should not claim our lands,” he stated.
In response to the controversy, Minister Zameer Ahmad Khan had previously drawn comparisons between Muzarai and Waqf, asserting that all Muzarai temples fall under government control. Surya questioned, “Why does the Waqf board have no control? Is Minister Zameer ready to bring Waqf under government control? The Centre is all set to curtail unlimited power to the Waqf.”
In related developments, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah instructed officials to retract all notices sent to farmers regarding Waqf land issues immediately, ensuring that farmers would not be inconvenienced. This decision came after a high-level meeting that included senior officials from the Revenue Department, Minority Welfare Department, and the Waqf Board.