A report submitted earlier by the Karnataka State Minorities Commission had revealed that the Waqf Board’s assets worth Rs 2.35 lakh crore in the state were looted by politicians. Although the report was submitted in 2012, successive state governments in Karnataka have not noticed the irregularities. Anwar Manippadi, joint spokesperson of BJP’s Karnataka unit and former chairman of the State Minorities Commission, has urged the incumbent Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to take necessary action based on the report.
Report released by Minorities Commission
The 125-page report and 13-volume documents show that out of the total 54,000 acres owned by the Waqf Board, 29,000 acres were looted by prominent Muslim leaders of the state. Anwar said that former Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. No action was taken during Yediyurappa’s tenure. Anwar said that former Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa would now like to move towards the truth.
Illegal construction on Waqf Board land
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal has said that the Bommai-led government should hand over the Waqf land scam case to the Central Bureau of Investigation for a thorough investigation. Along with Yatnal, BJP MLAs- Raghupati Bhat, Sanjeev Manthandoor and Vedvyas Kamat demanded a discussion on the issue in the assembly. The ruling BJP government has said that a full report on the misuse of Waqf Board property will be presented in the state assembly. Sources with knowledge of the matter claimed that several commercial complexes, hotels, engineering and medical colleges have come up on Waqf Board land in Karnataka.
The names of these leaders included in the scam
The former State Minorities Commission chairman said, “Top Muslim leaders of the state like Janata Dal-Secular President CM Ibrahim, late Congress leader Qamar-ul-Islam, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress leader Iqbal Ansari, Former Union ministers- Jafar Sharif, Rehman Khan and former Karnataka minister Roshan Baig are allegedly involved in the racket.” He said he had approached the High Court and the Supreme Court to establish the validity of the report. Now, the BJP government should start acting on the report, he said. BJP sources said the party is proceeding with the matter with caution as assembly elections are also near.