‘Ministers misusing state machinery to silence farmers who lost children to Waqf atrocities’: Surya

HAVERI: Responding to an FIR filed against him for making a ‘false claim’ about a farmer’s suicide after his land was claimed by the Waqf Board, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on Friday said that the Congress government in the state is attempting to “silence all those who are trying to expose the atrocities of the Waqf Board”.

Surya explained that a group of farmers allegedly met with the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) Chairperson to share a “heart-wrenching” story. They reported that a farmer allegedly took his own life after losing a four-acre plot of land that had been transferred to the Waqf Board’s ownership. Surya stated that the farmer’s father personally recounted the incident to both the JPC Chairperson and multiple media outlets, which subsequently reported the story.

“Yesterday, a farmer’s delegation met with the JPC chairperson and narrated a heart-wrenching incident of a farmer committing suicide because the four-acre land that belonged to him was changed to the name of the Waqf Board. The father of the deceased farmer narrated this story, not just before the chairman, but to multiple media organizations. This news was reported by many media organizations, and I highlighted this news on my social media platforms”, Surya said.

Surya added that the Congress government is allegedly neglecting the welfare of farmers in favour of protecting their “vote bank interests”. He further claimed that attempts were being made to downplay the farmer’s father’s claims by attributing the suicide to “personal reasons” unrelated to the Waqf Board issue. He also alleged that the state government was misusing its power to silence the grieving father and other farmers affected by such land disputes.

“The ministers are abusing the state machinery to even silence the farmers who have lost their children due to the atrocities of the Waqf,” he added. “It’s a very serious matter. We will fight against it legally. This FIR will not stand the test of court.”

On Thursday, the Haveri police registered an FIR against Tejasvi Surya for allegedly making a false claim that a farmer in the district died by suicide after his land was claimed by the Waqf Board. According to the FIR, Surya had stated that a farmer, identified as Rudrappa Channappa Balikai, died by suicide after finding that his land was “taken over by Waqf.” Surya also blamed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan, accusing them of causing “catastrophic effects in Karnataka” in a post on X (formerly Twitter). This post has since been deleted.

The Superintendent of Police in Haveri also clarified that Surya’s claim was false, stating that Rudrappa Channappa Balikai’s suicide case was reported on January 6, 2022, and attributed to loan and crop loss. “The news shared is false. No such incident was reported. The farmer’s suicide was reported due to loan and crop loss, not Waqf. A case was registered u/s 174 CrPC in Adur PS, and a final report was already submitted,” read the post.

Following this, Surya announced that he would no longer rely on the source which had reported the incident. “Thanks for the information. The tweet stands deleted. I will henceforth not rely on the news agency that reported it. Given the rampant amount of Waqf conversion notices to 1,000s of farmers across the State, one is easily led to believe such outcomes,” he posted.

The Waqf land and properties row has recently intensified, with JPC Chairperson Jagdambika Pal visiting various districts and meeting farmers’ organizations in Huballi, Vijayapura, and other districts, accompanied by Tejasvi Surya. Pal announced that a fact-finding report would be presented in the upcoming winter session of Parliament. “We will submit the report in the upcoming winter session of Parliament”, Pal said.

The BJP has alleged that Waqf designations were added to land records for 44 properties in Indi and Chadachan taluks of Vijayapura district without proper notification, following a meeting between Karnataka Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan and district officials. However, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has instructed officials to stop issuing notices to farmers and withdraw those already issued. (ANI)