Yatnal to undertake anti-waqf campaign

NT Correspondent Bengaluru: BJP MLA from Vijayapura and Hindutva ideologue Basangouda Patil Yatnal has vowed to undertake an anti-waqf campaign starting Tuesday. He said that he would be joined by “like-minded” persons such as BJP MLC CT Ravi and self-styled right wing activist and writer Chakravarti Sulibele in Vijayapura on Tuesday. Yatnal said that the campaign was in response to Minister for Housing, Minority Welfare and Waqf Zameer Ahmed Khan’s claim that Karnataka was home to 1.11 lakh acres of Waqf land. The dispute is the claim that much of it has been encroached. He added that their main demand was to not declare any private land as waqf until the waqf act of the Union government, which is regarded as controversial, is passed.

He said he would visit places like Yadgir, Bidar etc where waqf disputes have arisen. Waqf is an Islamic endowment, usually land or in some cases, a building or other assets, which are donated permanently in the name of God for charitable purposes like education and the like. “Zameer Ahmed Khan said that in Karnataka, there had been 1,11,000 acres of waqf land. There is no basis for this claim. Our struggle is that no private land should be declared waqf. Tomor row (Tuesday), it’ll be in Vijayapura.

In the future, I’ll go to Bidar, Yadgir and other places where Zameer Ahmed Khan has held meetings. Pro-Hindu organisations will accompany me,” Yatnal said, alleging that Zameer had abused the Vijayapura Deputy Commissioner (DC) and the local tehsildar over supposed waqf encroachments. He also claimed that a lot of farmland was being claimed as waqf land, adding that farmers were getting notices. Yatnal also alleged that police headquarters, district hospital and other notable spots were being claimed as waqf.

Threat to release CD; Responding to the campaign, some persons from the Muslim community like activist SS Qadri threatened to release a CD featuring Yatnal. Former corporator Abdul Razaq was also present at the press conference where the threat. “If he doesn’t relent, releasing the CD by November 6 is guaranteed,” Qadri said. In Karnataka politics, CD often refers to lewd acts by politicians being caught on camera and then circulated through discs.