The first day of the 10-day winter session of the Karnataka legislature that began at Belagavi on Monday witnessed massive protests by farmers in the city. While the sugarcane growers staged a protest before the deputy commissioner’s office, the farmer groups with allegiances to the BJP and JD(S) held separate rallies, reiterating similar demands— total farm loan waiver, drought relief measures across 17 districts, setting up of procurement centres, payment of arrears to sugarcane farmers and implementation of irrigation projects in north Karnataka region.
With the JD(S)-Congress coalition government’s farm loan waiver scheme proving to be a non-starter, as the much promised debt-free certificates are yet to reach the farmers, the BJP seems to have sensed a political opportunity as its leaders allege “step-motherly attitude” by the Kumaraswamy government towards the north Karnataka region. While the BJP legislators rushed to the farmers’ rally organised by the Raita Morcha immediately after the customary condolence references in the house, cooperation minister Bandeppa Kashempur, too, rushed to a rally organised by farmer organisations like the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS), Karnataka State Sugarcane Growers’ Association (KSSGA) and Hasiru Sene under the leadership of Kodihalli Chandrashekhar to pacify the agitating farmers.
Launching a tirade against the coalition government, former chief minister Yeddyurappa equated the coalition rule to “Tuglaq durbar” and vowed to fight for the farmer’s cause both inside and outside the assembly.
“For the last six months, Kumaraswamy has been chanting loan waiver and neglected all development works in the state. Farmer suicides due to mounting debt are on the rise. But the CM has failed to implement the loan waiver. In a face saving bid, he has distributed debt-free certificates to only a few farmers ahead of the legislature session. Nowhere in independent India have we come across a CM who speaks ill of women, the opposition and the media who question his government. We will launch a statewide protest. Five teams of BJP MLAs have toured the drought-hit areas and we hear of distressed sale of cattle to slaughter houses. I want to ask the CM if his government is alive? Have any of your ministers visited the drought-hit districts?,” said Yeddyurappa adding that massive farmers protests indicated that people had no trust in this government.
Hitting back at his detractors, Yeddyurappa said that he would not be sidelined owing to his old age. “Let me assure you, I will remain strong for another 15 years,” he said. The three-day old government led by Yeddyurappa had collapsed on May 19, with the chief minister announcing his decision to resign without facing a trust vote. “My critics believe this was my last stint as the CM and I will fade away. It was a bad luck that we fell short of a majority though we were the single largest party by winning 104 seats. In about 30 seats, we lost by a small margin. Had the BJP come to power, we would not have let down the farmers,” said the Lingayat strongman.
Former Athani MLA and Raita Morcha president Laxman Savadi claimed that the arrears of sugarcane was Rs 1,600 crore in three districts of Belagavi, bagalkot and Vijayapura and most of the defaulters (sugar factory owners) were part of the ruling party. “The state government should pay the sugarcane farmers their arrears instead of settling the bills for power purchased from these defaulting sugar factory owners,” said Savadi.
Former deputy chief minister R. Ashok charged that the JD(S) was ruling the state through Holenarsipura. The BJP leader accused the chief minister and the government of neglecting the north Karnataka region.
Earlier, Dharwad MP Prahlad Joshi lamented that the state government had failed to open procurement centres for all crops except paddy. “The Centre has fixed the MSP for 25 crops, but the state is not inclined to facilitate procurement. The Swaminathan Committee report tabled in 2006 was not implemented by the UPA. Swaminathan has lauded the Modi government for implementing his report, while the previous governments slept over it,” said Joshi.
Udupi-Chikmaglur MP Shobha Karandlaje reminded Kumarswamy that he had vowed to waive off farm loan before the deities of Dharmasthala and Sringeri. “Even after six months, none of the farmers' loan has been waived off. He is trying to mislead the farmers by distributing debt free certificates to a few in Chikkaballapur and Sedam. Yeddyurappa had tabled a separate agriculture budget, waived off farm loan and gave power subsidies. When farmers are demanding power, you boast of selling power abroad. This is an anti-farmer stand. In Mysuru, the water resources minister wants to build a Disneyland at a cost of Rs 1,500 crore, when the dam (sluice) gates are in need of repair. The Krishna tribunal awarded 172 tmc to Karnataka but not a single tmc is being utilised.”
