The controversy over Waqf property notices in Karnataka is heating up.

On Thursday, Jagdambika Pal, the chairman of the Joint Committee of Parliament on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill visited Karnataka to meet farmers who are protesting against notices (which are now withdrawn) that had been served to some of them for allegedly encroaching on waqf properties.

He is also likely to meet others, including a host of Karnataka BJP leaders, who have launched a stir over the issue. Pal also said Wednesday that the waqf panel will meet its deadline of submitting the report in Parliament in the first week of the Parliament’s Winter Session due to start on November 25.

In a post on X on Tuesday, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, who is also a member of the committee, said, “Chairman of JPC on Waqf has kindly consented to my request to visit Hubli and Bijapur on November 7 to interact with farmers affected by the Waqf’s predatory action.”

The background: 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”.

In context: The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which seeks to amend the Waqf Act, 1995, proposed some sweeping changes to the regulatory framework of Muslim charitable endowments. The changes, opposed by Opposition parties and dubbed “unconstitutional”, include giving the government a big say in regulating Waqf properties, redefining how a property is deemed to be in the possession of Waqf to changing the composition of Waqf boards in states. The 31-member committee was tasked by the Lok Sabha to scrutinise the Bill to amend the law governing Waqf boards.

Pal’s visit to Karnataka comes at a time when Opposition members of the committee have raised questions about the deposition of “non-stakeholders” and the committee sessions being run in “violation of rules”, members of the ruling party have alleged “willful disruption” on the part of the Opposition to avoid facing tough questions.

“People who are not stakeholders are being called for deposition. It only means your intention is not right. It shows you are not interested in doing justice,” Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant, who walked out from some of the committee meetings, told The Indian Express. An Opposition MP also alleged that more deposition time was being given to those who suit the “BJP and government agenda” on the Waqf issue.

On Thursday, the Indian Armed Forces will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will address an anti-terror conference scheduled to be held in New Delhi on Thursday.

On November 7, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray will campaign in Daryapur. Abhijit Adsul, the son of Shinde-led Shiv Sena leader Anand Adsul, is contesting from the seat.

Following this, Thackeray will campaign for Sunil Kharate, the party’s candidate from Badnera.

In context: Though dealt a body blow by the Eknath Shinde revolt of June 2022, Thackeray managed to avert a complete collapse, showing yet again why he cannot be written off. In the Lok Sabha elections, the Shiv Sena (UBT) won nine of the 21 seats it contested, with a strike rate almost equal to Shinde’s party.

Like Pawar, Uddhav now faces a litmus test. At stake is the opportunity to establish he is the real heir to his father Bal Thackeray’s political legacy and not his former lieutenant Shinde. The elections, in short, will be a mandate for the real Sena. The polls will also be crucial as far as Thackeray’s position within the MVA is considered and his chances of remaining in the conversation for the CM’s post if the alliance returns to power.

—- With PTI inputs