Kaneez Fatima () is an Indian politician and 2 time MLA from the

Gulbarga Kalaburagi, formerly known as Gulbarga, is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka, It is headquarters of eponymous Kalaburagi district and Kalaburagi division, Kalaburagi city is governed by a Municipal Corporation, It is called a Sufi c ...

North constituency of the

Karnataka Legislative Assembly The Karnataka Legislative Assembly (formerly the Mysore Legislative Assembly) is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the southern Indian state of Karnataka. Karnataka is one of the six states in India where the state legislature ...

. She was the wife of a former minister, the late Qamar-ul-Islam who was also MLA from the same constituency in 2013. She was appointed chairman for Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation Limited (KSIC) on 26 January 2024.

Constituency

She represents

Gulbarga Uttar (Vidhana Sabha constituency) Gulbarga Uttar Assembly seat is one of 224 assembly constituencies in Karnataka in India. It is part of Gulbarga Lok Sabha constituency. The major communities residing in this constituency are Muslims, Lingayatism, Lingayats and Dalits, with Mus ...

of the

Political career

Fatima is a member of

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

(INC) political party. After the passing away of Dr Qamar ul Islam, Fatima had initially refused to contest but was persuaded by

Siddaramaiah Siddaramaiah (born 3 August 1947), also referred to by his nickname Siddu, is an Indian politician who is serving as the 22nd List of chief ministers of Karnataka, chief minister of Karnataka from 20 May 2023. He also held that position previo ...

Mallikarjun Kharge Mapanna Mallikarjun Kharge (; born 21 July 1942) is an Indian lawyer and statesman serving as the President of the Indian National Congress since 2022 and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha since 2021. He has been a Member of Parliament, ...

and G.Parameshwar. Besides people of all communities convinced her to contest. Many Gulbarga leaders from Congress MLA Priyank Kharge, MLA Ajay Singh, Wahid Ali Fatihakhwani, Nazar Mohammed Khan, ex-HKE President Basavaraj Bhimalli, etc. supported her and more than sympathy, the election campaign was done by highlighting the contributions of her husband Qamar-ul-Islam and won the election against Nasir Hussain Ustad of JD(s) and Chandrakanth Patil of BJP by 5,940 votes.

CAA Protest

A massive protest, the largest in North Karnataka, took place in the town of

Kalaburagi Kalaburagi, formerly known as Gulbarga, is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka, It is headquarters of eponymous Kalaburagi district and Kalaburagi division, Kalaburagi city is governed by a Municipal Corporation, It is called a Sufi ci ...

against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Around 15,000 people gathered for a protest march and came out defying the Section 144 notification that was imposed on the entire state of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. MLA Kaneez Fatima was the major catalyst in mobilising citizens. All local Congress Corporators reportedly came out in support of the protest.

Position held

Controversy

Fatima had purchased 22 acres of agricultural land near

. S K Kantha, the former minister, had filed a complaint alleging that the purchase was illegal and violated Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961. The Act prohibits the purchase of agricultural land by any person other than an agriculturist. The Gulbarga tahsildar, in his report to the Assistant Commissioner, stated that

Qamar ul Islam Qamar ul Islam (27 January 1948 – 18 September 2017), was an Indian politician who was the Six-term Member of the Karnataka Legislative assembly, one-term Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from Kalaburagi and All India Congress Committee ...

runs schools and owns commercial complexes and hence the income of Fatima exceeded Rs two lakh per annum. The Assistant Commissioner set aside the purchase of land by Fatima with an observation that the purchaser had violated the provisions of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act. He has directed the tahsildar to take over the land and mention Karnataka Government as the owner of the land.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fathima, Kaneez Karnataka MLAs 2018–2023 Karnataka MLAs 2023–2028 Indian National Congress politicians from Karnataka Living people Kalaburagi 1959 births People from Hyderabad, India Women members of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly Indian Muslim politicians 21st-century Indian women politicians