THE KARNATAKA Congress government which has been battling a series of controversies over the past couple of months, from alleged scams to withdrawal of cases against some accused in the 2022 Hubballi riots, is now facing the heat over another.

Plus, this particular controversy, over alleged takeover by the waqf board of some lands, threatens to embarrass the central unit of the Congress. It comes bang in the middle of the Opposition offensive against a Narendra Modi government Bill to amend waqf board powers over land. Hearings are currently on in a Joint Committee of Parliament on the proposed changes, marked by heated exchanges between the Opposition and government sides.

Following a ‘waqf adalat (hearing)’ held on October 10, the Vijayapura district administration issued 124 notices in all over various properties owned by the Karnataka State Board for Auqaf, or the waqf board, but under the possession of 433 people. Of the 13 taluks in Vijayapura district, two taluks, Indi and Chadachan, made mutations in column 11 of Record of Rights, Tenancy and Crops (RTC) following the notices.

Mutation is a change made in the RTC, with the reason for the change entered in column 11. After verification, an entry is made in column 9 of the RTC, registering the owner of the land.

The BJP took up the issue soon after, and towards the end of October, held an agitation accusing the waqf board of sending notices regarding “1,200 acres of land” at Honwad in Vijayapura district, which it said was cultivated by farmers. The protest was led by BJP leader Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, who called the move “tyrannical” and said the party would move court against “notices” issued by tehsildars on behalf of the waqf board.

Yatnal, who is known for rustling up controversies, also shot off a letter to Prime Minister Modi seeking that waqf properties be nationalised “in view of the arbitrary, blatant violation in claiming of the lands of farmers, landowners, temples, trusts and mutts across the country by the waqf board”.

On October 28, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, Industries and Vijayapura district in-charge minister M B Patil, and Housing and Waqf Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan took on the BJP, accusing it of making false claims regarding the extent of land claimed by the waqf board.

The ministers said the allegation that the board was claiming 1,200 acres at Honwad was based on a “wrong entry” in the 1974 gazette notification of waqf properties. “It was rectified in 1977 and none from Honwad were served notice by the government,” Gowda said, adding that the extent of waqf land in the village was only 11 acres.

While acknowledging the 44 notices for mutation in two taluks of the district, Gowda called it a “procedural lapse” and said mutations in column 11 were done without following the due process of issuing notices to the concerned.

Patil added that directions were issued to set aside the mutations and a task force formed to verify all the entries made in the 1974 notification of waqf properties and match it with revenue records.

The Congress also tried to dilute the BJP’s agitation by pointing out that similar notices were served during the party’s rule. A video clip of BJP MP and former CM Basavaraj Bommai shared on social media platforms shows him describing waqf land as “Khuda ki property (property of God)” at a waqf board event. “If that is looted, if you keep your eyes closed (when the property is looted), you will be more guilty than those who loot the land,” he says in the clip, adding that more than Rs 2,000 crore worth of waqf properties are registered on the names of private individuals.

The Congress has also pointed to a promise made by the BJP in its 2014 election manifesto to “Empower Waqf Boards in consultation with religious leaders; taking steps to remove encroachments from and unauthorized occupation of waqf properties”.

On Monday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that under BJP rule in the state, notices were issued in 216 cases as part of the process to reclaim land owned by the waqf board.

According to Khan, the land under the waqf board in Karnataka was estimated to be 1.12 lakh acres some years ago, but owing to encroachments, this is now less than a quarter of that, at 23,860 acres.

For instance, in Vijayapura district, the total extent of the waqf land as per the 1974 gazette was 14,201 acres. However, Khan said, in reality, this was 773 acres as 11,835 acres was granted to farmers under the Land Reforms Act, 133 acres acquired for various government projects, and the remaining given as grant.

The issue has attracted attention due to the ongoing plans of the Centre regarding waqf land. The Karnataka BJP has drummed up support in favour of the Modi government’s proposed amendments over the past few months, holding signature campaigns in favour of the same.

On Sunday, the Karnataka BJP said it would send a “ground report” on the waqf properties in Karnataka to the parliamentary panel holding hearings on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. On Monday, it held protests across the state with Leader of the Opposition R Ashok describing the Vijayapura district administration notices as “land jihad” and demanding waqf minister Khan’s resignation over the issue.

With the controversy coinciding with the coming bypolls in Karnataka and Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, Congress leaders including Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar have said the issue is being raised for political purposes.