Sugarcane growers, protesting in Belagavi against the delay in payment of arrears by sugar mills, turned the heat on the government on Sunday by driving sugarcane-laden trucks into the Suvarna Soudha premises after forcibly opening one of the main gates. The police brought the situation under control and arrested about 30 protesters.
Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy remarked that those who barged into the Suvarna Soudha were ‘goondas in the guise of farmers’. Questioning the timing of protest, he wondered why the issue had cropped up now though the problem was present for the last four years. He also criticised a woman protester and wondered what she was doing in the last four years.
The entire episode, however, took political overtones with the Opposition BJP stepping in and warning the government of joining the sugarcane growers in a Statewide stir.