Tejasvi Surya booked for ‘fake news’ in waqf controversy | India News – Times of India

BENGALURU: Police in Congress-ruled Karnataka on Friday filed an FIR against Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya over a post on his social media account claiming that a farmer had died by suicide after the administration of Waqf had reportedly seized his property. The message, based on a media report, sparked controversy and led to an investigation.
The case came a day after Jagdambika Pal, chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf Bill, visited Hubballi, Vijayapura and Belagavi to meet affected farmers. Surya had accompanied Pal on the tour. The FIR in Haveri district charges Surya under Section 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, regarding incitement to enmity between people. In addition to the MP, there are two other editors Kannada Digital Media outlets have been named as co-suspects.
Surya too National Youth President of the BJPsaid in the post: “A farmer in Haveri commits suicide after discovering that his land has been taken over by the waqf. In their haste to appease the minorities, CM Siddaramaiah and Minister Zameer Khan have unleashed catastrophic consequences in Karnataka that are becoming impossible to control with each passing day. passing day (sic).”
The message was based on a report published by Kannada Duniya e-paper. The FIR claims that the report is “fake news”.
A statement from CM Siddaramaiah’s office quoted a report in the two Kannada portals claiming that the farmer named Rudrappa from Hanaragi village in Haveri ended his life eight years ago after discovering that his four-acre plot was registered in the land registry as waqf property was mentioned.