BENGALURU: Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Monday issued a stern warning to the Congress government, saying if the Waqf dispute isn’t resolved soon, farmers may start storming the residences of the chief minister, deputy CM and their cabinet colleagues.
“How long will you deceive people like this? Are you favouring one community while neglecting another? Apologise to the people and rectify the mistakes, or the day is not far when people will enter your homes. Recently, a Congress MLC said people could storm the Governor’s residence like they did the Bangladeshi Prime Minister’s house. The same could happen here. Don’t test the patience of farmers,” he warned. He was speaking to the media in Doddahalli village while campaigning in Channapatna constituency.
“No decision was made with regard to Waqf properties during my tenure as CM. The statements made by CM Siddaramaiah are baseless,” he said.
He clarified that no files giving farmers’ land, Hindu temple land, or hills of Ramanagara to the Waqf Board ever came to him. “I don’t know on what basis the CM is making these statements. Do not blame others for mistakes you have made. If there was any fault, bring it before the public,” he challenged Siddaramaiah.
“If anything related to Waqf occurred during my tenure, Congress is to be blamed. Krishna Byre Gowda was Revenue minister, and Waqf Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan was in charge of Waqf then too. If anything was done without my knowledge, it’s not related to me. I never allowed any illegal activity,” he clarified.
Kumaraswamy said he was ready to counter any attempts to unnecessarily drag his name into the controversy.
“The chief minister must speak responsibly. Congress is dividing people along religious and caste lines, and this is the party’s downfall. Mallikarjun Kharge himself has said this,” he said.
BJP MEMBERS STAGE PROTEST
BJP leaders on Monday staged a statewide protest against the government issuing notices to farmers in connection with the Waqf land row. They also demanded a CBI inquiry. The BJP also demanded that Waqf and Minority Affairs Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan be removed from the Siddaramaiah cabinet. Res-ponding, CM Siddaramaiah slammed the Opposition, stating that when the BJP was in power, its government had also issued not-ices to 216 individuals.
LoP in the Assembly R Ashoka urged citizens to block officials of the Waqf Board from entering their properties. He added that if they get any notices, they may inform BJP leaders about it. “We always stand with farmers and the people,” Ashoka said.
The Congress government had said they want to give Rs 10,000 crore to Muslims, and it can go to any extent to appease the minorities, he alleged. The Congress had earlier posted an old video clip of then CM Basavaraj Bommai, where he had assured that Waqf properties would be safegu-arded, but had recently reportedly backtracked from that stand. The CM questioned Bommai over this, while adding that he had also instructed officials to withdraw the notices issued to farmers.