Amid row over Waqf land, Karnataka officials to appear before parliamentary panel

New Delhi: Amid a row over Waqf land in Karnataka, officials from the state government are scheduled to appear before the parliamentary panel examining the Waqf Amendment Bill on Thursday.

The Joint Committee on the Waqf Amendment Bill, chaired by BJP member Jagdambika Pal, is scheduled to hear views from representatives of the governments of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Delhi in sittings spread over two days beginning Thursday.

Delhi's Food and Supply Minister Imran Hussain is also scheduled to address the committee on Friday, followed by the recording of evidence by the representatives of the Delhi government.

The deposition of officials from the Congress-led Karnataka government comes in the wake of a row over claims by BJP leaders that over 1500 acres of land belonging to farmers in the state were being taken over by the Waqf board.

Pal had visited Karnataka and interacted with the farmers who had received notices from the state government regarding encroachment over properties belonging to the Waqf Board.

The committee had also written to state governments seeking details of Waqf properties occupied by them in an unauthorised manner as per the Sachar panel report.

The UPA government constituted the Sachar Committee in 2005 to study the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community in India.

The parliamentary panel was constituted on August 8, soon after the Waqf (Amendment) Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha.

Opposition parties have stridently criticised the amendments proposed by the bill in the existing Waqf Act, alleging that they violate the religious rights of Muslims. The ruling BJP has asserted that the amendments will bring transparency in the functioning of the waqf boards and make them accountable.