Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries H. D. Kumaraswamy has accused the Government of Karnataka of hiding data related to farmer suicides in the state while celebrating its three years in office.
Addressing reporters in Bengaluru on Tuesday, the former chief minister alleged that the government was ignoring the worsening condition of farmers across Karnataka.
‘Farmers are dying while government celebrates’
Kumaraswamy criticised the state government’s anniversary celebrations in Tumakuru and questioned the effectiveness of the Congress government’s guarantee schemes.
“Farmers are dying daily, but they are celebrating in the name of guarantees. If these guarantees were truly effective, why would farmers be committing suicide?” he said.
The JD(S) leader further alleged that the government had “built a tomb over the lives of farmers” while spending crores of rupees on public events.
Cites NCRB data on farmer suicides
Quoting data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Kumaraswamy claimed that Karnataka recorded 2,423 farmer suicides in 2023 and 2,971 in 2024, placing the state second in the country.
He alleged that the government was attempting to suppress or downplay the seriousness of the crisis.
Revenue department and land issues criticised
Kumaraswamy also criticised the government over issues linked to the Revenue Department and land-related schemes.
He alleged that despite the government promoting a proposed “Land Guarantee” initiative as a major welfare measure, farmers continued facing serious difficulties in accessing land records and resolving revenue-related problems.
The Union Minister further accused the Congress government of misusing government officials to mobilise crowds for political programmes and publicity events.
The Karnataka government has not yet officially responded to the allegations.