Waqf land issues: Karnataka Legislative Council LoP calls Siddaramaiah's withdrawal orders "an eyewash to win local elections"

Karnataka Legislative Council LoP Chalavadi Narayanaswamy reacted to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's orders of immediate withdrawal of waqf notice to farmers, saying that it is just an "eyewash" to win the local elections.

Speaking to ANI, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy said, "Now, you've given the order to withdraw the notices. But still, in the gazette, it is only Waqf's property. So this is not a solution at all. I will immediately request CM Siddaramaiah to withdraw the 1974 gazette. Otherwise, it is just an eyewash to win the local elections. This will not bring any relief to the farmers."

Meanwhile, Karnataka Congress leader Nagaraj Yadav backed Siddaramaiah for his decision and accused BJP of politicise the issue.


"The Chief Minister did the right thing and also said that no further notices will be issued and the notices that have been issued will be withdrawn because the BJP is trying to politicise the issue and certainly the Congress has no intention of issuing such notices or dividing the society on the basis of caste. It is only the attitude of the BJP to do so..."

Earlier on Saturday, Siddaramaiah has issued a strict directive to officials to immediately retract all notices sent to farmers concerning waqf land issues, emphasizing that no disturbances should be caused to the farmers, said Chief Ministers Office in a statement.

The directive followed a high-level meeting involving senior officials from the Revenue Department, Minority Welfare Department, and the Waqf Board, added the statement from CMO.

The CM expressed strong dissatisfaction over recent actions taken by certain officials and highlighted that the JD(S) and BJP were allegedly using the Waqf issue for political gain, potentially disturbing peace in the state.

Siddaramaiah appealed to the public to disregard any misinformation and called on officials to ensure the matter is handled sensitively.