Congress MLA B.R. Patil urges Rahul Gandhi to push for repeal of BJP-era land reforms
Congress MLA B.R. Patil confronts his own government's inaction, writing to Rahul Gandhi to demand the repeal of "anti-farmer" land reforms introduced by the BJP
Congress MLA B.R. Patil has appealed to Rahul Gandhi to expedite the repeal of the BJP government's 2020 land reform amendments in Karnataka, which he contends are "anti-farmer." These amendments removed income thresholds and non-agriculturist restrictions on buying farmland, a move promised for reversal by Congress in its 2023 election manifesto.
Congress MLA B.R. Patil has appealed to Rahul Gandhi to expedite the repeal of the BJP government's 2020 land reform amendments in Karnataka, which he contends are "anti-farmer." These amendments removed income thresholds and non-agriculturist restrictions on buying farmland, a move promised for reversal by Congress in its 2023 election manifesto.
Congress MLA B.R. Patil has appealed to Rahul Gandhi to expedite the repeal of the BJP government's 2020 land reform amendments in Karnataka, which he contends are "anti-farmer." These amendments removed income thresholds and non-agriculturist restrictions on buying farmland, a move promised for reversal by Congress in its 2023 election manifesto.
Congress MLA from Aland and Deputy Chairman of the Karnataka Policy and Planning Commission B.R. Patil has written to Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, expressing his displeasure over what he described as his own government’s lack of action towards repealing the land reforms amendment introduced by the BJP government in 2020.
In his letter dated September 29, Patil urged Gandhi to intervene and push for the repeal of the amendments made during B.S. Yediyurappa’s tenure as chief minister. The amendments scrapped Sections 79A, 79B and 79C of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, removing restrictions that had barred people above a prescribed income threshold and non-agriculturists from purchasing agricultural land in the state.
Patil described the amendments as “anti-farmer” and pointed out that repealing the BJP-era changes was one of the promises made by the Congress in its 2023 assembly election manifesto.
According to Patil, nearly 19.92 lakh acres of agricultural land have changed hands since the restrictions on the purchase of agricultural land were eased. He argued that a significant portion of this land is no longer being used for cultivation, raising concerns over the long-term implications for agricultural land and food security. “The farmers may get a good price for the land they are selling, but they will become landless; most of the land buyers now are not from the locals,” Patil told The Week.
Farmers’ leader and Raita Sangha MLA Darshan Puttannaiah also voiced a similar concern. He said wealthy buyers often do not use the land for agriculture but convert it into farmhouses for recreational purposes.
The Congress had promised in its 2023 election manifesto that, if voted to power, it would repeal what it described as the “anti-farmer” land reforms enacted by the BJP government.
However, more than three years after the Congress came to power in Karnataka, Patil has now written to the party’s senior national leader seeking intervention on the issue.
In Karnataka, the original 1961 land reforms act put a cap on individual ownership and allowed only agricultural families to buy the agricultural land, to protect poor farmers. BJP government brought amendments to which removed the section 79A, 79B 79C of the law, which allowed anyone to buy agricultural land without an income limit. B.R. Patil now presses to bring back the three sections to protect the farmers, as promised in Congress’s election manifesto.