Bengaluru: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Karnataka protested against the state government’s alleged betrayal of farmers here on Wednesday.
“BJP legislators and leaders, led by state unit president B.S. Yeddyurappa, staged a protest demonstration against the Chief Minister’s (H.D. Kumaraswamy) attitude of insulting the farmers and not supporting their demands,” the party’s spokesman S. Shantaram said in a statement.
Several party cadres and legislators gathered in the city centre holding placards asking the state government to resolve farmers’ issues at the earliest.
About 5,000 farmers from across Karnataka staged protests here on Monday seeking loan waiver, higher price for sugarcane and relief aid for crop loss due to drought in 17 districts across the state.
Though the Kumaraswamy-led coalition government announced farm loan waiver in June, the banks have not written off any loans even after five months, farmers said, demanding immediate waiver of loans.
The opposition BJP will also hold protests along with farmers on December 10 in Belagavi where the winter session of the state legislature will be held, its party leaders said.
Kumaraswamy on Tuesday convened a six-hour-long meeting with sugar cane farmers after hundreds of them, including their women folk, protested against the state government failing to provide minimum support price (MSP) for cane.
“The state government will ensure a higher MSP than earlier to cane farmers and make sure they don’t face any issues going ahead,” the Chief Minister had said.
[source_without_link]IANS[/source_without_link]