Wakf scam rocks Houses

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The issue of Wakf property being swindled by political leaders rocked the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, with both JD(S) and some BJP members seeking a CBI inquiry into the scam.

Congress legislators while urging the government to initiate a CBI probe, also sought to know if the Minority Commission had the jurisdiction to submit such a report and whether the government had actually asked for the report. Sources said several leaders of the party including C.K. Jaffer Sharief and C.M. Ibrahim have been named in the report for encroaching on Wakf land.

The issue was raised by BJP member C.T. Ravi, who wanted to know if the figures pertaining to the swindling of property worth over Rs 2 lakh crore — half of Wakf assets in Karnataka — was true. He cited media reports which had mentioned the names of political leaders indicted by the Commission and sought to know the action to be taken against them. Opposition leader Siddaramaiah urged the chief minister to table the report in the House so that a debate could be initiated. Janata Dal(S) member Zameer Ahmed Khan intervened and said media reports had mentioned several names including his. “I was told that the Commission did not name me. If the government does not want a CBI inquiry, let them order an independent inquiry by former Lokayukta Justice Santhosh Hegde. He will not budge to political pressure,’’ he said.

Congress deputy leader in the Assembly T.B. Jayachandra drew flak when he asked about the mandate of the Commission and its terms and references. He wondered if Mr Anwar Manipadi, who submitted the report, might be a ministerial aspirant.

Minority leaders, including Qamar-ul-Islam, Tanveer Sait, U.T. Khadar and N.A. Harris urged the government to hand over the scam to the CBI for a probe. At this juncture, Mr Srinivas Prasad intervened and said the Commission had named a former chief minister, who is an MP and a Union minister too. The charges made in the report need to be probed, he said.

Mr Siddaramaiah urged the government to table the report so that an appropriate decision could be taken after the debate. Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda said that he had just received the report and was studying it. The government will initiate appropriate action after going through the report, he said.