Unveiling the Land Jihad: Farmers vs Waqf Claims

Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje alleges that a powerful land mafia is exploiting Waqf claims to seize land from farmers and the poor. She vows to present the protesters' grievances to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, promising legislative change.

A serious allegation has emerged as Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje accuses a 'powerful land mafia' of using Waqf claims to grab land from farmers and the impoverished.

During her visit to Munambam, Ernakulam, where a protest involving 600 families against Waqf land claims is ongoing, Karandlaje criticized the so-called 'land jihad'. She questioned how the Waqf Board expanded from 10,000 acres in 1954 to 38 lakh acres now, making it the country's third-largest landowner.

The BJP leader pledged to voice the protesters' concerns to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. She contends that widespread land acquisitions under dubious claims are occurring nationally.

(With inputs from agencies.)