Idgah row: BJP leader accuses Congress MLA of ‘arm-twisting’

Just days after Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) chief commissioner Tushar Girinath tried to end the Idgah maidan ownership controversy by stating that the property belonged to the Wakf board, BJP leader NR Ramesh Tuesday alleged that Congress MLA Zameer Ahmed Khan ‘arm-twisted’ the civic body over the issue.
Ramesh met with special commissioner V Ramprasath Manohar and handed over documents, claiming that the Maidan was Palike property and the then mayor held his oath-taking ceremony at the ground in 1964.
The chief commissioner said the BBMP has no rights over the land as it belongs to the Wakf board and asked them to apply for Khatha. Recently, Zameer met him and it appears he must have influenced the Palike. Now efforts are on to show Palike property worth Rs 150 crore as Wakf land. said Ramesh.
Hindu right-wing groups have claimed that the Idgah ground, a 2.5-acre land in the heart of Bengaluru, is owned by the BBMP. Initially, BBMP authorities had also claimed that the ground belonged to the civic body and they asked the Wakf board to submit documents to prove its claim over the land.
Thereafter, the Central Muslim Association (CMA) sent copies of a Supreme Court judgement and a Gazette Notification issued in 1965 that termed the 2.5-acre land as a Wakf board property. It also alleged that a BBMP revenue officer created the confusion over ownership of Idgah ground.
Usually, Ramzan and Bakrid prayers are held at the Idgah maidan but Hindu outfits recently sought permission to hold the International Day of Yoga and other religious events at the ground. However, the civic agency and the police declined to give permission to the programmes. Later, Girinath clarified that the Wakf board owned the Idgah maidan and asked it to get the Khata (revenue document) of the property.