Staff Reporter

Mapusa

Calling the recently passed Goa Restriction on Transfer of Agricultural Land Bill 2023 in the legislative assembly is against the interest of farmers in the state, the Goa Kul Mundkar Sangharsh Samiti on Thursday began its protest on Thursday at Pernem against the bill and demanded that bill should be withdrawn or else there will be agitation across
the state.

Various leaders from different organisations on Thursday participated in the protest which included leaders of Goa Kul Mundkar Sangharsh Samiti, Dipesh Naik Santosh Mandrekar, Rajan Korgaonkar of Mission for Locals, Swapnil Sherlekar Narayan Gadekar of Goycho Awaaz Sanghatan, Bahujan Samaj leader Umesh Talwanekar, Daniel D’Souza, Suresh Talkatkar, Kishore Gadekar Shamsunder Mayekar, Arjun Salgaonkar, Prashant Sheth, Mahadev Gawandi, and others.

The protest began with garlanding the statue of Mahatma Gandhi and by shouting slogans against the BJP-led government.

Addressing the gathering, Dipesh Naik said that the BJP has passed the bill in the recently concluded assembly session without taking farmers into confidence as the bill is brought to murder farmers.

“If any farmer fails to undertake cultivation of a field then the government will take over the farm and hand it over to a collector who can give it to anyone which is against the interest of the farmer. Even if anyone wants to approach the court challenging the bill then it cannot
be done” said Naik.

Former sarpanch of Arambol, Daniel D’souza, said that the agriculture law is passed which is not in the interest of Kul mundkars but it will benefit land mafia and people of Goa should come together and fight against it.

Santosh Mandrekar said that the government should have taken farmers into confidence and held meetings and then passed the bill. The bill is against Bahujan Samaj farmers.