Temples too marked as Waqf property, claims K’taka BJP

Bengaluru: Karnataka BJP on Thursday alleged that along with agricultural lands in Karnataka, the Hindu temples have also been marked as Waqf properties.

Karnataka Leader of the Opposition (LoP) R. Ashoka said that a massive protest will be launched on November 4 against the Waqf Board and the state government for encroaching on farmers' lands and temple properties.

“After Vijayapura, temple properties in Kolar are being marked as Waqf properties. Similarly, in places like Nagamangala, Channapatna, and Belagavi, farmers' lands have been recorded as Waqf properties to seize them,” said Ashoka while addressing the media persons.

He claimed that it’s not just land grabbers but the government itself that is officially occupying these lands, adding that the farmer organisations must protest strongly against this.

“In the past, Muslim rulers attacked and imposed their religion by force; Tipu Sultan forcibly converted people in Kodagu, and now, similar land grabbing is taking place. Such people are being supported by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah,” he claimed.

In response to Siddaramaiah's remark that the BJP does not take any issue to a logical conclusion, Ashoka said: "We protested, and hence the cases were filed against the Chief Minister. The Lokayukta and ED are investigating, even his supporters are being probed. This fight has reached its logical conclusion, and now we’ll pursue it legally.”

He pointed out that the farmers are protesting against the Waqf Board, and the BJP has supported them, adding that the Chief Minister lacks the courage to imprison the officials who served these notices to farmers.

“This government is a laughingstock which is running things like the Tughlaq era. Two of their guarantee schemes turned out to be a flop. Shivakumar claims that women are calling him saying they don’t need the scheme. Like a thief’s excuse, he’s using this as a reason to scrap the scheme,” he claimed.

He added that the state government is also setting many conditions to cancel ration cards, adding that the government act as if it can do anything after coming to power.

“We predicted that after the Lok Sabha elections, the guarantees would be dropped, and now the government has taken its first step,” he stated.

He added that the transport department is in financial loss, and the government owes crores to it.