Karnataka farmers to hold tractor rally on R_Day in Bengaluru

MYSURU/SHIVAMOGGA/CHIKKAMAGALURU: Rejecting the Centre’s proposal to put the farm laws on hold for two years, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha leader Kodihalli Chandrashekhar said they will go ahead with the tractor rally in Bengaluru on Republic Day in solidarity with their counterparts in Delhi.Instead of heeding to farmers’ demands, the Centre is pushing half-hearted solutions. Similarly, the State Government is also pushing farmers into a corner by adopting the laws, along with the prohibition on cow slaughter, he noted.

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The governments have targeted to open up the farming sector for their crony friends, and Karnataka was among the first to come out with ordinances for these anti-farmer laws. We will protest until they are revoked,” Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) leader Kodihalli Chandrashekhar asserted.Chandrashekar said the rally will start in Bengaluru right after the Republic Day address by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and will be taken out through the main roads in the city to culminate at Freedom Park. 

“We will not resort to any violent methods,” he maintained and added that there is no reason for the authorities to deny them permission since it is the right of the public to celebrate Republic Day.
Farmers from Mysuru will also take part in the rally along with farmers from other districts. “There is no animosity between farmer organisations and everyone will be united in the rally,” he added.

In Shivamogga, KRRS and Hasiru Sene honorary president H R Basavarajappa said that farmers will take out a parade in the state capital in their tractors, bullock carts and other vehicles. Farmers from across the state, the Dalit Sangharsha Samiti, Karnataka Janashakthi Vedike and other organisations have extended their support. Well-known writers and authors from across the state will take part as well, he said.

Basavarajappa noted that around 25,000 to 30,000 farmers will take part in the parade and from Shivamogga district, more than 1,000 farmers are expected to take part.Karnataka Janshakti Vedike secretary K L Ashok, in a press release, stated that 2,000 farmers from each district will participate in the massive Republic Day parade in Bengaluru.