Members of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangh (KRRS), the Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangh (KPRS), the Democratic Youth Federation of India, the Social Democratic Party of India, and the Aam Aadmi Party did a ‘satyagraha’ in front of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Gandhi Park on Friday as part of a nationwide protest against recent Acts brought out by the Union government.
The protesters assembled near the statue soon after the end of the function organised by the district administration to mark Gandhi Jayanti. They garlanded the statue and sat silently near it for nearly an hour.
Later, addressing the protesters, KRRS State Secretary Ravikiran Punachha said both the Union and the State governments were working against the interest of farmers and labourers. The recent Acts by the Centre and the amendments to the APMC Act by the State government favoured capitalists, he said.
“We will not allow the two governments to implement it. We have the capacity to overthrow the two governments,” he said.
State vice-president of KPRS K. Yadava Shetty said Karnataka has been at the forefront in land and agricultural reforms.
“Leaders like D. Devaraj Urs, B.V. Kakkilaya, and Krishna Shetty have fought hard to bring in changes to the land reforms Act. We cannot allow the same to be diluted,” he said.