Karnataka HC quashes FIR against BJP MP Tejasvi Surya over farmer suicide post
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka High Court has set aside an FIR filed against BJP Yuva Morcha president and Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya.
The FIR, registered by the Haveri police under 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), was based on a social media post Surya made concerning a farmer's suicide, which he linked to alleged Waqf Board land claims.
The petition, filed by Surya, argued that the FIR was baseless and politically motivated.
Following detailed hearings, Justice M Nagaprasanna's bench quashed the case after earlier granting an interim stay on proceedings.
Senior advocate Aruna Shyam, representing Surya, informed the court that the MP's post on the social media platform 'X' (formerly Twitter) was made after the deceased farmer's father highlighted grievances related to land disputes involving the Karnataka Waqf Board.
Surya's post alleged that the suicide was connected to the board's land claims. However, Haveri Superintendent of Police Anshu Kumar later clarified that the farmer, Rudrappa, who died by suicide in January 2022, had done so due to crop losses and loans, not due to Waqf-related issues.
Following this clarification, Surya deleted the post.
Shyam also pointed to concerns over amendments made to land records by the Karnataka Revenue Department, which allegedly replaced farmers' ownership details with the Waqf Board's name across various districts. These changes sparked anxiety among farmers, leading to protests and the state government's subsequent withdrawal of the amendments, he explained.
The counsel noted that Surya, as a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, had visited farmers in Vijayapura alongside JPC Chairman Jagdambika Pal.
The visit brought attention to issues faced by farmers in Karnataka due to Waqf-related land claims, which Surya highlighted in his now-deleted post, Surya's advocate said.
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Trump repeats claim he stopped potential nuclear war between India and Pakistan
New York/Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump has repeated his claim of resolving the India-Pakistan conflict and asserted that Islamabad's leadership credited him for saving millions of lives.
"We stopped a potential nuclear war between Pakistan and India. And the head of Pakistan, a highly respected General, he's a Field Marshal and also the Prime Minister of Pakistan, said President Trump saved 10 million lives, maybe more...,” Trump said Monday.
He made these remarks at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, flanked by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Navy Secretary John Phelan, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“You know, eight planes were shot down. That war was starting to rage, and he actually said the other day that President Trump saved 10 million lives, maybe more. So we solved all these wars. The only one I haven't solved yet is Russia, Ukraine,” he said.
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Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he “helped settle” the tensions between the two neighbours.
New Delhi has consistently denied any third-party intervention.
India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians.
India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.
