Congress fires salvo at CM Yediyurappa: 'Person who can't support farmers is of no use'

Addressing a protest rally in Bengaluru on Monday, Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala slammed the Karnataka government and the Centre over the farm legislation. A number of farmer organizations spearheaded by the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha called for a statewide shutdown to protest against the amendment to the Karnataka Land Reforms Act and the APMC Act. Earlier in the day, protests were held at several locations in Bengaluru, Mandya, Mysuru, Tumakuru, Ballari, Kalaburagi, Bidar, Belagavi, Uttara Kannada and Udupi among other districts.

Disputing the claim that the BJP government was in the interest of the farmers, he questioned why farmers have given the shutdown call. Referring to the passage of The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020, he highlighted that crores of farmers across the country are protesting on the streets. According to him, BJP's attempt to mislead farmers would not succeed. 

Congress leader Randeep Surjewala remarked, "There is a saying- A person who cannot support farmers is of no use. This saying is applicable to Modi & Yediyurappa. The PM said that I am working for the interests of the farmers, which was also seconded by Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa. If you working for the interests of the farmers, then why have the farmers shut down Karnataka? Why are 62 crore farmers in an agitation mode? Why are they are on the roads? Are we fools and is only Modi and Yediyurappa intelligent? The attempt to misguide farmers will never be successful."

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Crucial amendments

The Karnataka Land Reforms (Second Amendment) Bill, 2020 lifts restrictions on purchasing agricultural land in the state, allowing any person to purchase it. The opposition to the bill is based on the premise that large corporates would buy land in bulk, which would be detrimental to the farm economy. On the other hand, certain sections of the APMC Act have been repealed to permit private players to directly buy agriculture produce from farmers.

The protesters have alleged that the farmers will be deprived of the Minimum Support Price, aiding multinational companies to procure produce at their rates. Meanwhile, Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa expressed willingness to talk to the farmer leaders regarding these amendments. Clarifying that the state government was not shutting down APMCs, he dismissed the opposition's allegations. 

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