Karnataka's Congress and BJP are locked in a blame game over farmers' issues. Deputy CM DK Shivakumar urged BJP to question the Centre, while BJP plans a protest against the state government for its alleged negligence and inaction.
Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar on Tuesday, responding to the BJP MLAs' protest against the state government in the Suvarna Soudha, stated that it has provided support to the farmers and the BJP MLAs should instead question the Central Government on its negligence towards the issues raised by the farmers. "We want them to discuss about North Karnataka. We want them to discuss why the Central government is not helping the farmers. There is a big crisis among farmers over sugarcane prices. The government of Karnataka has supported them. Central government is not doing anything... We want them to raise their voice against the Central government..." he said.
BJP Hits Back, Plans Protest
Meanwhile, the Bhartiya Janata Party workers are all set to hold a protest against the state government to highlight and address the farmers' issues today in the Sauvarna Soudha.
Earlier today, Karnataka BJP President BY Vijayendra slammed Congress for not resolving the issues. While speaking to ANI, Vijayendra stated that the Congress government has neglected the issues being faced by the farmers. "Because of the infighting within the ruling Congress government, issues pertaining to the farmers have been totally neglected by this Congress government. Sugarcane growers have been fighting on the streets for the last two months, but till now, there is no clear solution to this protest. The demand of the maize growers was very simple; they were only demanding that the government open procurement centres. Even this did not happen..." he said.
'Farmers Forced to Sell Crops at Lower Prices'
Vijayendra highlighted that even though the fixed price of Rs. 2400 per quintal was set by the central government, the maize growers had to sell it to the middlemen for Rs. 1500-1600 due to the unavailability of procurement centres.
He further mentioned that the farmers were not compensated for the crop loss due to flooding across the state. "Even the central government had set a fixed price of Rs. 2400 per quintal. Since there were no procurement centres, the maize farmers were forced to sell their crop to middlemen for Rs. 1500-1600 per quintal. After the recent floods across the state, there was a huge crop loss, and the farmers were demanding proper compensation, which has not been granted... Taking all these issues, the BJP will be protesting here today..." he added. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)