A video of Basana Gouda Patil Yatnal being stopped by the people from politicising the event has gone viral on social media
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – A controversy erupted after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Basana Gouda Patil Yatnal was forced to leave a temple inauguration event in Bagalkot district of Karnataka after he tried to drag the Waqf land issue.
The incident took place during the inauguration of Shri Allamaprabhu temple in Terdal town on Monday.
Yatnal, MLA from Bijapur City, was interrupted by the attendees when he started speaking on issues related to Waqf land. It was also pointed out that members of the Muslim community also contributed and donated to build the temple. An individual from the community donated Rs 6 lakh for the construction of the temple, it was pointed out.
A video of Yatnal being stopped by the people from politicising the event has gone viral on social media.
Addressing the event, Yatnal, who was leading protests against the Waqf Board in Karnataka, talked for a few minutes about the Waqf Board, accusing it of seizing land owned by temples and farmers through intimidation, claiming that the board was established to appease a particular community. “Recently, about eight acres were encroached upon…,” he was heard saying in a viral video clip before being interrupted by a section of the audience.
Objecting to the remarks of Yatnal, some members of the crowd were heard saying, “Don’t bring politics here”. Responding to the interruption, he asked whether discussing the Waqf issue was considered political. When members of the gathering affirmed that it was, and urged him not to address the topic, the BJP leader left the venue.
The behaviour of the BJP MLA has come under criticism from various quarters, with Muslim community leaders condemning Yatnal’s choice to bring up a divisive topic at a religious venue. K. Ashraf, former Mangaluru mayor and president of the Dakshina Kannada Muslim Okkuta, said “The public’s reaction underscored their rejection of what they perceived as an attempt to sow discord. Such remarks have no place at a community event.”
Ahead of assembly elections in several states, the BJP leaders have been targeting the Waqf properties and the Waqf Board by raising various issues related to the Waqf. The campaign against the Waqf properties has started as the Central government is trying to pass a bill proposing to curtail the powers of the Waqf bodies. The proposed bill has been sent to the Joint Parliamentary Committee after it faced fierce objections from the opposition parties.
Yatnal, a former union minister of state for textiles and railways, had accused the state Waqf Board of attempting to claim over 1,200 acres of land in the Vijayapura district. But his claim has turned out to be false. Yatnal began an agitation in the first week of November in response to a few notices issued by the Waqf Board in the district.
The MLA is known for making inflammatory and provocative remarks targeting opposition leaders and Muslims. Addressing an election rally during 2023 Karnataka elections in May, he said ‘If you speak about our faith, India or Hindus. Then you will be shot’.
In September this year, he was pulled up by Karnataka High Court for calling state Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao “half Pakistani” because Rao’s wife is a Muslim.
“Just because someone’s wife is a Muslim, can you dub him to be half Pakistani? This is not the way to talk. This is not correct,” the high court reprimanded Yatnal.
