Karnataka BJP President BY Vijayendra slammed the Congress government for neglecting farmers' issues, including those of sugarcane and maize growers, ahead of a planned protest. Deputy CM DK Shivakumar countered, blaming the Centre for inaction.
Karnataka BJP President BY Vijayendra on Tuesday slammed the Congress here for not resolving the farmers' issues, ahead of the party's protest against the state government. 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.
BJP Details Farmers' Plight
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. "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.
The Bhartiya Janata Party workers are all set to hold a protest against the state government to highlight and address these issues today.
Congress Hits Back, Blames Centre
Meanwhile, on Monday, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said it was the Centre's responsibility to offer a solution, stating that the state government had taken 'costly' steps to address issues faced by sugarcane and maize farmers. Speaking to reporters at his Sadashivanagar residence, the Deputy CM said, "The Centre hasn't said a word with regards to issues facing sugarcane and maize growers. BJP MPs are not raising their voice in Parliament in support of our farmers."
'BJP MPs Not Raising Voice': DyCM
He slammed BJP MP Basavaraj Bommai for not raising the issue of farmers in Parliament. (ANI)
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