Temples & mutts will be handed over to Muslims if people again vote for Cong: BJP MP

Bengaluru: BJP National Youth President and MP Tejasvi Surya said on Saturday that all the temples and mutts will be handed over to the Muslims if people will again vote for the Congress.

“If votes are given to Congress party for freebies, all our temples, houses, mutts will be handed over to Muslims. If you still vote for the Congress party, there won’t be any freebies in future and the Hindu pilgrimage centres like Dharmasthala and Sringeri won’t exist,” said Surya while addressing media in Bengaluru at BJP headquarters.

He claimed that more lands of farmers are being named as the Waqf property in the state.

“In Karnataka, the Waqf board has claimed more than 50,000 acres of land,” he claimed, adding that no one can predict when the farmers’ lands will be transferred to the Waqf board.

“I have brought this matter to the notice of the Chairperson of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC). I have requested the Chairperson to come down to Hubballi and Bengaluru to receive the petitions from farmers. He is likely to visit on November 6 and 7 to the state,” he added.

He alleged that as per the instructions of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Minister Zameer Ahmad Khan is conducting the Waqf Adalats.

“Under which law the provision for conducting the Waqf Adalat is made? What is the legal standing for the Waqf Adalat? Which provision of the Constitution allows 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,” he said.

He said that many cases of South Indian states have come before the JPC, adding that the Waqf board has claimed the temples which existed before when Islam was born.

“Whenever there is an election, the Congress has been empowering the Waqf board,” he claimed.

The central government has formed a JPC to amend the Waqf Act. 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 which rightfully belongs to it and it should not claim our lands,” he claimed.

He said that Minister Zameer Ahmad Khan had compared the Muzarai and Waqf, adding that all Muzarai temples are under the control of the government.

“Why does the Waqf board have no control? Is Minister Zameer ready to bring Waqf under the control of the government? The centre is all set to curtail unlimited power to the Waqf,” he said.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday directed officials to immediately retract all notices sent to farmers over Waqf land issues, emphasising that the latter should not be inconvenienced.

The Chief Minister's directions came after a high-level meeting involving senior officials from the Revenue Department, Minority Welfare Department and the Waqf Board.