Farmers bring protest to Bengaluru

BENGALURU: Farmers from across the state descended on Bengaluru on Monday, staging a raucous protest for more than five hours to demand that the government meet a list of 39 demands. The stir hit traffic on roads in Gandhinagar and surrounding areas, while a police contingent near Freedom Park stopped farmers marching on Vidhana Soudha.

Hundreds of farmers, led by state president of Karnataka Hasiru Sene K T Gangadhar and farmer leaders Chamaras Patil and Chukki Nanjundaswamy, arrived at Bengaluru Railway Station on Monday morning to lay siege to Vidhana Soudha.

Their main demands included waiver of all loans of farmers as promised by chief minister HD Kumaraswamy during the assembly election, announcement of fair price for sugarcane and procurement of foodgrain at minimum support price. With protests by cane farmers in North Karnataka adding to the tension, heated arguments broke out between police and farmers outside Freedom Park.

The farmers then staged a dharna near the park, demanding that Kumaraswamy himself receive a memorandum from them. After an hour of persuasion, the farmers agreed to meet cooperation minister Bandeppa Kashempur.

“Protecting the interest of farmers is the top priority of the government. We will fulfil all demands of farmers in a phased manner in next five years,” Kashempur said, assuring the farmers that he would soon arrange for them to meet Kumaraswamy. The minister said that the government had started the farm loan waiver process and cooperative banks had already waived farmers’ loans totalling Rs 9,500 crore. The minister’s assurances did not satisfy the farmers, who raised slogans against Kumaraswamy. But they ended their protest on an assurance that the government would convene a meeting in 15 days to discuss their problems.



HDK COUNTERS AFTER ATTACK BY MODI
Chief minister H D Kumaraswamy on Monday launched a counterattack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for criticising his government as a “warrant government”. During his election speech in Chhattisgarh on Sunday, Modi accused Kumaraswamy of issuing arrest warrants to farmers after announcing a mega loan waiver of Rs 45,000 crore. “The PM has made an irresponsible statement without understanding the facts,” he said.

“The arrest warrants are being issued by nationalised banks (not co-operative banks) that are controlled by Modi government. It is not our government that betrayed farmers but the Modi government that gave directions to PSU banks to issue warrants. I am really shocked at Modi’s comments.”