The Haveri Police filed an FIR against BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on Thursday for allegedly making a false claim regarding a farmer’s suicide. Surya had posted on X (formerly Twitter) that farmer Rudrappa Channappa Balikai took his life after learning that his land had been "taken over by the Waqf board," and blamed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and minister B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan for what he described as "catastrophic effects" in Karnataka. Surya’s post cited a report from a Kannada newspaper but was later deleted.
Haveri’s superintendent of police clarified that the suicide, reported on January 6, 2022, was due to crop loss and debt, unrelated to any Waqf issue. "No such incident reported. The case was due to loan and crop loss and has been closed after investigation," the SP’s post stated.
Following this, Surya responded, expressing regret over the misinformation and said he would no longer rely on the source of the report. "The tweet stands deleted. Given the high number of WAQF conversion notices to farmers, it’s easy to believe such outcomes," he explained.
The controversy arises amid heightened tensions in Karnataka over Waqf land designations. Joint Parliamentary Committee Chairman on the Waqf Amendment Bill, Jagdambika Pal, recently visited districts with Surya to meet farmers’ organizations in places like Huballi and Vijayapura. Mr. Pal announced plans to present a fact-finding report in Parliament's upcoming winter session.
The BJP has accused the state government of adding Waqf designations to land records in Vijayapura without proper notification, allegedly after a meeting between minister Zameer Ahmed Khan and district officials. The dispute over Waqf land and property registrations has intensified, drawing national attention and sparking heated discussions within Karnataka’s political landscape.