‘Manippady should reclaim encroached Wakf property'

Minister for Wakf and Haj Zameer Ahmed Khan challenged BJP leader and former president of Karnataka State Minority Commission Anwar Manippady to recover a Wakf property encroached by a BJP leader in Mangaluru.

He told a section of reporters during his visit to Maulana Azad Bhavana on Thursday that if Manippady had concern for Wakf properties, he should first recover the Wakf property in Bunder encroached by a BJP leader.

About 63 cents of land in Bunder was encroached by a BJP leader for constructing a multi-storeyed building. The BJP leader has appealed against the assistant commissioner court’s order to surrender the wakf property in the high court.

About 685 Wakf properties in Dakshina Kannada are safe, he added.

“Manippady was commission president for three years and his term ended on February 26, 2012. He should have submitted the report on Wakf properties while he was the chairman. He had not raised the issue when D V Sadananda Gowda was the chief minister. There is no meaning in mounting pressure on the government to table the report now. As a minister, I had invited him for a discussion on the issue. However, he did not respond,” he added.

Later, the minister reviewed the progress of welfare programmes under the Wakf and Minority Welfare Department and announced the release of Rs 70 lakh for Shadibhagya.

Yenepoya deemed to be University Chancellor Yenepoya Abdulla Kunhi, DK Wakf Advisory Committee president Kanachur Monu and others felicitated the minister.

‘Akbar should have resigned sooner’

To a query on former chief minister Siddaramaiah retiring from politics, Minister Zameer Ahmed said the followers will not allow a politician to retire. “Siddaramaiah should be in politics.”

On M J Akbar tendering resignation, he said, “Akbar should have tendered resignation soon after the allegations.”