Waqf row: Parliament panel chief visits Karnataka amid BJP’s land jihad charge

The Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, Jagdambika Pal, met with farmer delegations in Karnataka on Thursday following claims that some lands in the state were marked as Waqf properties without the owners’ consent. The BJP has labelled these actions as ‘land jihad’.
Pal said he’s in the southern state “for a fact-finding visit”. BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, who petitioned Pal to address the farmers’ grievances, had announced the visit on social media. The visit includes stops in Hubballi, Vijayapura, and Belagavi to meet with affected farmers and other stakeholders.
“The farmers of north Karnataka…they handed over one memorandum saying that a piece of land which was belonging to them, Waqf Board is claiming it is theirs,” Pal told news agency ANI. He added that some farmers claimed to have held these lands for “more than 50-70 years.”
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar dismissed the BJP’s ‘land jihad’ charge against the Congress government and protests over it as “political drama” and claimed, “BJP themselves started this in 2019â€æBut my government is committed, we will not change any record… They are trying to put the blame on us.”
Shivakumar argued that the parliamentary committee lacks authority to interfere in state land issues, stating, “JPC doesn’t have any powers to enter; they might have come for their political purposes.”
Pal’s trip has also been met with pushback from some opposition lawmakers on the panel, who alleged that it was conducted unilaterally, without committee consultation.
“This is just an example where the chairperson has decided to take this trip alone, which has not been mandated by the committee while the official trip will come later,” an opposition MP told India Today TV on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje tweeted her support, saying, “This ‘land terrorism’ must end! I request the Chairman to listen to our farmers and Swamijis and find a permanent solution.”
The entire parliamentary committee is scheduled to visit multiple cities, including Lucknow and Hyderabad, from November 9 to November 14 to meet with stakeholders and prepare a report on the contentious issue.