On Sunday, May 14, an old video of Gulbarga Waqf Board district committee chairman Syed Habeeb Sarmast (Aslam Baba) went viral on social media in which he said Muslims do not need reservations or loans, provided Waqf board manages to monetize the land under its control. The video went viral after Congress won the Karnataka Assembly Elections with a thumping majority. It was originally posted on Sarmast’s Facebook Page on April 29.
वक़्फ बोर्ड के पास केवल गुलबर्गा में २७००० एकड़ जमीन है। पूरे देश में सात लाख से अधिक मिल्कियत है। वो भी मुगल या अरब से लाए थे ? pic.twitter.com/6geuNQSGUq
— Gopal Goswami (@igopalgoswami) May 14, 2023
Congress had vowed to reinstate the Muslim reservation of 4 percent that the Bharatiya Janta Party-ruled Karnataka government had scrapped. Notably, in a statement, a Congress leader said there is a chance that the reservation for Muslims could be increased to 6 percent in the state. In March this year, the then-BJP government scrapped the 4 percent reservation for Muslims and divided that quota into Vokkaligas and Lingayats.
Aslam Baba said, “Muslims do not need reservations. Muslims do not need loans. If Muslims run their Waqf Board properly, they can give loans to the government. There are 27,000 acres of land under Waqf Board in Gulbarga. Out of this, 17,000 acres are being encroached upon by our people (Muslims). Since taking charge (of District Waqf Board Committee), I have taken back control of 1,100-acre land encroached for over 40 years.”
He added, “Pray that we take back control of our land. If we manage to do so, we will brighten the future of our younger generation. Our girls will not have to stand outside the Minority Committee office to take loans. The Minority Committee office is in front of the Waqf Board office. Girls wearing Burqa stand in queue for 2-3 hours to get loans of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000.”
Amit Shah had questioned Congress’s promise to increase reservation
Despite Muslim leaders saying that Muslims do not need reservations, Congress promised to reinstate it and increase it to 6 percent. Earlier, Congress leader, and former Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha, K Rahman Khan told the media that if the party comes to power in Karnataka, Muslim reservation can be increased from 4 percent to 6 percent.
Former Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah had said the Congress is committed “to increasing the reservation limit from 50 percent to 75 percent and extend reservation to all castes based on their population”.
In an interview with ANI, Union Home Minister Amit Shah raised questions over Congress’s intentions. He had said, “Reservation within reservation done with a lot of thought…Before the end of campaigning for Karnataka elections, Siddaramaiah must clarify that if Congress increases the reservation for Muslims from 4 percent to 6 percent, whose reservation would they decrease – OBCs, SCs or STs or Lingayats, or Vokkaligas?”
Supporting the then-BJP government’s decision to scrap 4 percent reservation for Muslims, Amit Shah called the Congress party’s decision to give reservation to the Muslim community “unconstitutional”.
Waqf Board land was encroached upon by the Muslim community
Interestingly, Sarmast categorically said that over 62 percent of the Waqf Board land in the Gulbarga district is encroached upon by Muslim community members. Sarmast took charge of the District Waqf Board committee in August 2022. Since then, he has claimed to have taken back control of 1,100 acres of encroached land.
Kaneez Fatima won a Congress seat from Gulbarga North
Incumbent Congress MLA Kaneez Fatima has won from the Gulbarga North seat. Kaneez won the seat with 80,973 votes against BJP’s Chandrakant B Patil, who got 78,261 votes. Fatima made headlines in 2022 for leading hijab protests in her constituency. As per the 2011 census, the district’s population was 25,66,326, out of which 20,11,014 (78.36%) were Hindus and 5,13,125 (19.99%) were Muslims. However, the Gulbarga North assembly seat has over 50% Muslim population, according to pollster Chanakya.
Congress won the Karnataka Assembly elections
On May 13, the results of the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections were announced. Congress returned to power as the single largest party by winning 135 out of 224 Assembly seats. BJP won 66 seats, and JD(S) grabbed 19 seats. Two seats went to the independent candidates, while Kalyana Rajya Pragati Paksha and Sarvodya Karnataka Paksha won 1-1 seat each.
