BJP targets Oppn, accuses them of 'looting' waqf board meant for Muslims

Targetting Opposition parties, BJP on Thursday said that they "looted" the waqf land meant for poor Muslims.

Citing a Karnataka Minorities Commission report prepared by its the then chairman Anwar Manippady, BJP spokesperson Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that people who do "fear-mongering" among Muslims and are their "self-professed" protectors have exploited them.

He also said that the commission has pointed out in its report that over 29,000 acres of waqf land in Karnataka was "surreptitiously and illegally" transferred for commercial use.

He also mentioned that while the report was prepared in 2012 but it was tabled in state assembly in September this year. For eight years, two "secular governments ruled the state, and why they did not table it", he questioned.

Chandrasekhar said that an investigation should be done into such waqf land irregularities in other states too.

When asked what present Karnataka Government ruled BJP took action on the report, he said "I am confident that a probe will be undertaken in Karnataka."

The waqf board in the state holds 54,000 acres of land of which 29,000 acres were "illegally" used for commercial purposes, Chandrasekhar said, citing the report.

BJP leader Manippady in his report named several Congress leaders including Mallikarjun Kharge C M Ibrahim, Rehman Khan, N A Haris, and Iqbal Saradagi, he said.