Bengaluru, Dec 15 Former Minority Commission Chairman Anwar Manipaddy on Sunday refuted the bribery charge levelled by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, saying the Congress leaders have been offering him bribes to suppress the Waqf encroachment report.
CM Siddaramaiah on Saturday alleged that BJP state president B.Y. Vijayendra "tried to bribe" the former Minority Commission Chairperson during the previous government with Rs 150 crore to suppress a probe into the Waqf property encroachment.
Speaking to the media, Anwar Manipaddy stated that if Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has any genuine concern and love for Muslims, he should hand over his report on the Waqf encroachments to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
“The offer in this regard was made by the Congress. They asked me to settle in the US as I had the Green Card. Vijayendra never said that he would give Rs 150 crore. In 2012, when I was the Minority Commission Chairman, I had never heard of Vijayendra’s name. He was the Vice President of the party,” Anwar stated.
“I remember talking to him about the implementation of the report since his father B.S. Yediyurappa was the CM. I criticized Vijayedra then for various reasons, but he has not made any offer of Rs 150 crore to me. After I followed the presentation of my report in the Assembly, then CM Yediyurappa placed it in the session,” Anwar stated.
“The Congress leaders had made offers for three to four years. But I had rebuked them and sent them back. Now, they fear talking to me. The Waqf has a total land of 54,000 acres. In this, 27,000 to 28,000 acres are encroached. The Waqf board presently has 23,000 to 24,000 acres of land with it. Issuing notices to farmers claiming the ownership of 1.60 lakh acres to the Waqf board is being done by the Congress government and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah with an intention to create strife between Hindus and Muslims,” Anwar Mannipaddy slammed.
“My findings given in 7,000 pages about the encroachment of Waqf properties by the powerful, including Congress leaders, is just the tip of the iceberg. If the CBI starts a probe, the illegalities and encroachments will run up to 70,000 pages,” Anwar Mannipaddy stated.
“The Congress tries to use money and muscle power on me to suppress the report. My personal secretary Ateeq’s retirement benefits were withheld and the court had given him relief. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is being pressured from all sides over the Waqf issue. He is trying to hide everything and bringing up the name of Vijayendra to divert the issue of encroachments,” he stated.
CM Siddaramaiah in his press statement on Saturday demanded the CBI probe against Karnataka BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra for trying to hush up the Waqf scam report by allegedly offering Rs 150 crore to former Minority Commission Chairman and BJP leader Anwar Mannippady.
Vijayendra has dismissed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's bribery allegations as "baseless".
Responding to the allegations, Vijayendra questioned, "You (CM Siddaramaiah), who is terrified of CBI and ED investigations, have questioned the Governor's approval for prosecution and tried in vain to protect yourself legally by hiring senior lawyers from New Delhi. After facing humiliation due to the High Court's verdict, what moral standing do you have to demand a CBI investigation against others?"
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