Chamarajpet bandh on July 12 to protest BBMP's Idgah stand

A federation of pro-Hindu, trader and resident groups has announced a dawn-to-dusk bandh in Chamarajpet on July 12 in protest against the BBMP's decision to give up its claim on the 2.10-acre Idgah Maidan.

The bandh call has been given by the Chamarajpet Citizens Forum, which claims to have the support of over 40 organisations. It has three demands: the BBMP must withdraw the statement that it doesn't own the Idgah; name the ground after Chamarajendra Wadiyar; and not issue the khata to the Karnataka State Board of Auqaf.

"Most of the shops from all the seven wards (of the Chamarajpet assembly constituency) have extended their support and decided to voluntarily remain shut. We will also be holding a protest rally as the BBMP appears to have buckled under pressure from the local MLA," said Shashank J Sridhara, a member of the forum.

According to the protestors, the BBMP did a U-turn after Chamarajpet MLA B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan and Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad met Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath and "pressured" him to change the stand.

S Bhaskaran, president of Vishwa Sanathan Parishad, said the BBMP was "misled" into believing that the Supreme Court’s judgment of 1964 was all about the title suit.

"The corporation’s plan to construct a building on the playground was dismissed by the apex court. The suit has nothing to do with the ownership of the land. If not the BBMP, the government must take possession of the 2.10-acre land," he said.

He also said the board and the Central Muslim Association cannot take refuge under the court judgment, which was delivered on a petition filed by a private individual who was no more.

History of the dispute

Located in the heart of old Bengaluru, the Chamarajpet Idgah has been in dispute for a long time. The latest surfaced in June when the BBMP claimed ownership of the property and several pro-Hindu outfits sought permission to hold events there.

But things took a turn when the Karnataka State Board of Auqaf claimed that the Idgah is a registered wakf property by citing the Supreme Court's 1964 judgement. The judgement, as DH reported earlier, had dismissed the then Corporation of the City of Bangalore's appeal against the order of the High Court of Mysore over the property.

The BBMP didn't dispute the court order but cited the city survey records from 1974 to claim the ground as its property. The wakf board, however, stuck to its stand and cited a 1965 gazette notification.

On June 22, BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath told a press conference that the civic body does not own the property. He said the board had submitted various documents, including copies of the court order and the gazette notification, to claim ownership of the land. He further said the board had applied for the khata and the BBMP would look into it.

But to date, the civic body has not issued the khata to the board.