Yogesh K Porwar
W
e will amend the Waqf Act to protect farmers’ interests:Surya
Haveri (Shiggaon):Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya alleged that the state government is planning to make farmers’lands into Waqf properties to consolidate Muslim votes in the Haveri (Shiggaon) by-election.
Campaigning for BJP candidate Bharat Bommai in Tadas village of Shiggaon taluk on Friday,he said that the government’s preferential treatment of Waqf has reached an extreme level.
A farmer in Haveri submitted a petition to the chairman of the Joint Legislative Committee, saying that his son committed suicide after their 4-acre land was registered under Waqf.
The media reported on this, and he shared it on social media to alert the government.When I questioned why farmers were being sacrificed,an FIR was filed against me and the media”.
Surya said the farmer did not commit suicide due to Waqf,but for some other reason,which the police have been forced to state.
What are you trying to achieve,government?The ones who talk about freedom of speech?You filed an FIR for reporting the news.
The deceased farmer’s father spoke to all the TV channels, saying that his son took his own life because their land was marked as Waqf property.The farmer’s father stated this, but Minister Priyank Kharge seems to know better”, he mocked.
He said Santosh Shivappa Kaudi’s property,a column (number 11) states it was included for Muslims to perform funeral rites and prayers.What happened here? This is happening in many villages.
Hundreds of acres that have been cultivated for years are being claimed as Waqf.Their land is already NA (Non-Agricultural) .
In some taluks,250-300 acres are being claimed as Waqf.Farmers from Kolar have called saying, to come personally and see for themselves.
Surya fumed”If you question this,FIRs are filed against you,farmer’s own son committed suicide because the land was marked as Waqf. But the government file cases through the police—how low have they fallen?.
They want to consolidate Muslim votes in this by-election.They are doing this to win the election.The Modi government will amend the Waqf Act and curtail the powers of the Waqf Board.
Before that,they want to give away hundreds of acres to Muslims in every village and taluk like this.
He said they don’t mention Waqf in the FIR, but it is recorded in the property documents, isn’t it? Once it is marked as Waqf, farmers cannot get agricultural loans, subsidies stop,and selling the land becomes impossible. It is like having land but being unable to use it.
How can it be included as Waqf property without anyone’s consent? This led to a farmer’s suicide. To prevent society from becoming aware that the land is marked as Waqf, they are trying to silence the media.
“Are the farmers’concerns not valid? Were the farmers acting in a play when they gathered before the committee chairman? Were those farmers all actors from a drama company? If the committee members are doing a drama , are the farmers too?.
The problem lies in the Waqf laws.We will amend the Waqf Board law and curb its authority. We will protect the interests of the state’s and the country’s farmers”, Surya declared.
