BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla lashes out at Congress, alleges vote bank politics for Waqf benefit

New Delhi [India], October 26 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on Saturday lashed out at Congress for trying to snatch away the lands of farmers in the name of vote bank politics for Waqf benefit. He said that Congress wants to transfer thousands of acres of land belonging to farmers in Karnataka to the Waqf board.

He criticized Congress for granting extensive powers to Waqf in 1995 and 2013, claiming that the government is now facilitating the transfer of thousands of acres of farmers’ land to the Waqf, highlighting a troubling trend in vote bank politics.

“Now the Congress party wants to snatch away all the lands of farmers and give it to one vote bank. This they are doing in the name of vote bank politics. They gave unlimited powers to Waqf in 1995 and in 2013. Now in Karnataka, the story has come from the media and from other sources – thousands of acres of land belonging to farmers which they have proof for, they want to transfer to the Waqf and the ministers and the government is actually giving the protection and the legal aid for doing this. This shows that their mindset, their priority is to snatch away farmers’ lands and to give it off to a particular vote bank,” Poonawalla said.

The BJP spokesperson further said that the reason opposition parties and leaders including Asaduddin Owaisi, Congress and Samajwadi Party opposed the Waqf amendment bill introduced by the BJP in Parliament was that they want unlimited power for the board.

“When the BJP government in the centre was bringing the Waqf amendment act, they opposed it in such way that in (Joint Parliament Committee) JPC matters became violent. Now we know why Owaisi, Congress, and Samajwadi were opposing the amendment. They want unlimited power for Waqf,” Poonawalla said.

Meanwhile, the Joint Parliamentary Committee meeting on the Waqf bill was held on Tuesday and was attended by many important personalities including retired judges and Supreme Court lawyers. The bill aims to bring significant reforms including digitisation of records, stricter audits, increased transparency, and legal mechanisms to reclaim illegally occupied Waqf properties.