Upping the ante following allegations by a section of farmers and others in certain parts of Karnataka that their lands were marked as Waqf properties, BJP on Thursday held protests in various districts targeting the Congress government.

The demonstrations, held under the slogan ‘Namma Bhoomi Namma Hakku’ (Our land, Our Right), were organised to oppose the alleged encroachments by the Waqf Board in the state, BJP sources said.

BJP workers, joined by a section of seers and farmers, took to the streets in Kalaburagi, Ballari, Haveri, Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru and Udupi, among others.

“We have two demands. We want Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to resign and the other demand is the withdrawal of a 1974 gazette notification related to Waqf properties. In fact, the recent withdrawal of notices to farmers by the state government was done because of elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand and also because of by-elections in Karnataka,” a BJP functionary said.

Earlier this month, Chairman of the Joint Committee of Parliament on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, Jagdambika Pal, along with the JPC member and Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, had visited Hubballi, Vijayapura and Belagavi, during which Pal met farmers and members of various organisations who complained that their lands were being claimed by the State Waqf Board.

Over 500 petitions were received by Pal from farmers in Karnataka’s northern districts, who alleged that their lands were marked as Waqf properties, Surya had said.

Alleging that the Karnataka Waqf Board has laid claim to at least 53 historic Archeological survey of India protected monuments across the state, Pal had asked: “how is it a Waqf property?” There were allegations by a section of farmers from Vijayapura district and a few other places and also by some organisations and religious institutions like Mutts that their lands were marked as Waqf properties.