BENGALURU, 5 NOV

Chairperson of Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 Jagdambika Pal will visit Hubballi and Vijayapura on Thursday to interact with farmers allegedly affected by Waqf Board's "predatory action", BJP MP Tejasvi Surya said on Tuesday.  

The response came days after Surya had requested Pal to invite farmers from Vijayapura district as witnesses to discuss their land disputes with Waqf Board. "Chairman will interact with farmer organisations, Mutts and petitions given to him will be placed before JPC," the Bengaluru South MP, who is a member of the Committee, said.

In a 29 October letter, Surya highlighted his recent meeting with a delegation of farmers from Vijayapura district and other areas. "These farmers, who have cultivated their lands for nearly a century, maintain records dating back to the 1920s and 1930s. In recent months, however, many of them have been served notices declaring their lands as Waqf property, without any accompanying evidence or explanation. The scale of these claims is substantial, with nearly 1,500 acres being designated as Waqf property in their village alone," he alleged in his letter to Pal.

Following allegations by a section of farmers from Vijayapura district that their lands were marked as Waqf properties, Chief Minister Sidddaramaiah has said none of them will be evicted, and notices issued to them will be withdrawn. —PTI