BENGALURU: Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy continues to face the wrath of the state farmers even after announcing the waiver of Rs 34,000 crore in farm loans in his maiden budget. Hundreds of farmers from all over the state are arriving in Bengaluru on Monday morning to stage a protest demanding total waiver of farm loans running to the tune of Rs 1.20 lakh crore.
"The waiver announced by the Chief Minister covers just a fraction of the lakhs of farmers who have obtained loans for agriculture. Kumaraswamy, who had assured a total waiver of farmers' loans to make them debt free, has failed to keep his word," said Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha president Kodihalli Chandrashekar.
"Who will repay the loans availed by farmers for purchase of tractors, tillers, digging of borewells and purchase of pumpsets ?" asked Chandrashekar. "The total debt burden on farmers in the state is about Rs 1.20 lakh crore. Kumaraswamy had assured blanket waiver of farm loans, including loans availed from private banks and money lenders. ," he added.
The farmers will stage a protest seeking total waiver of farm loans opposite the Gandhi statue at Maurya Circle on Monday. A massive rally will be organised in Haveri on July 21. "We will chalk out plans for an intense agitation if Kumaraswamy fails to respond to our demands," Chandrashekar said.
The farmer leader advocated the need for a comprehensive package for rejuvenation of the farm sector. "This should include implementation of the M S Swaminathan Committee report, big hike in minimum support price," he demanded.
Farmers’ protest likely to affect traffic
TRAFFIC would be affected in and around Maurya Circle on Monday morning, as farmers are planning to stage a protest against the state government. The protest will start around 10.30am and police said they are expecting around 500 farmers to take part in the protest.
Raitha Sangha blames HDK for farmer suicides
Mysuru:Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha General Secretary Nagendra has accused Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy of “betraying” the farming community by failing to waive off the entire Rs 53,000 crore farm loan in the state. He criticised Kumaraswamy of waiving only Rs 2-lakh loans borrowed between April 1, 2009 and November 31, 2017, which, he says, does not help the farming community much. Speaking to media persons on Sunday, Nagendra charged that the CM was responsible for the recent suicides of farmers.