Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha president Badagalpura Nagendra has expressed concern that the policies of the ruling Congress government with regard to agriculture seem to be a continuation of what was pursued by the BJP.
| Photo Credit: SRIRAM MA
Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) president Badagalpura Nagendra and other leaders have urged the State Government to clarify its position on withdrawing the amendments to Land Reforms Act and APMC Act introduced by the previous BJP government.
The KRRS has expressed concern that the policies of the ruling Congress government with regard to agriculture seem to be a continuation of what was pursued by the BJP, which was ousted from power in the State in the 2023 Assembly elections.
BJP’s corporatisation of agriculture
The KRRS drew the attention of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to the BJP’s attempts to encourage corporatisation of agriculture under the guise of doubling farmers’ income.
“When the BJP tried to hand over agricultural land and market to corporates, 562 farmers’ organisations in the country united and staged a protest in Delhi for over a year,” said the KRRS.
In Karnataka, too, the then BJP government passed a slew of amendments to open up the agricultural sector to corporate companies and this included amendment to the Land Reforms Act and the APMC Act.
Mr. Nagendra pointed out that the Congress was in the Opposition at that time and it had also opposed the amendments ushered in by the BJP. “You had extended support to the farmers and sought to fight the government policy together,” Mr. Nagendra added.
“’But it is disconcerting that after coming to power, the Government has not yet repealed them and the policies passed by the previous BJP Government remain in vogue,” said Mr. Nagendra.
When the Agricultural Price Commission met the farmers with respect to price fixation, it seemed to follow the guidelines laid down by the previous BJP government, he added.
‘’If the government continues to follow the policies of the BJP, then it will be a grave injustice to the farmers, said Mr. Nagendra who warned that the farmers will be forced to take to the street and launch an agitation.
Farmers feel betrayed
The letter addressed to the Chief Minister pointed out that in the 2023 election manifesto, Congress made several promises and assured to repeal the ‘’anti-farmer laws brought by the BJP, dropping politically motivated cases against farmers, implementing MSP, increasing the amount of interest-free loans,” etc. The KRRS said it is regrettable that none of the promises has been fulfilled so far.
There is no word on giving legal status to Minimum Support Price so as to make it compulsory, and the farmers perceive this to be a betrayal, the letter added.
The signatories to the letter included H.R. Basavarajappa of KRRS and Hasiru Sene, B. Bhagavan Reddy, State General Secretary, All India Khet Kisan Mazdoor Sanghatan, Noor Sridhar, State President, Karnataka Janashakti, P.V. Lokesh, State General Secretary, All India Kisan Sabha and others.
Published – February 05, 2025 05:22 pm IST
