MYSURU: Dubbing Karnataka’s anti-cow slaughter bill as anti-farmer, the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha on Sunday said that it would eat into the revenue of farmers since it would be difficult to maintain unproductive cows.
“Those who are demanding the anti-cow slaughter law are not farmers. Only farmers know the struggle of rearing the cows. We too have a concern for them. But in the present situation, it is difficult to maintain unproductive cows, and with the new law, farmers would not be able to sell them,” said Badagalpura Nagendra, president, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, at an interaction here.
He said that unlike earlier times, most farmers only reared a handful of heads of cattle since it was expensive to maintain them. He said he feared that the bill would lead to gau rakshaks harassing farmers since it provided impunity to such elements. “Farmers are the real gau rakshaks. We do not want any vigilante groups taking the law into their hands,” he said.
On the farmer protests in New Delhi, Badagalpura said that it was absurd to see the Central government refusing to retract the law despite the very same population for whom it was aimed at protesting against it.
He said that farmers will have another round of mega protests from December 16 in Bengaluru to push for the repeal of the farm bills of the state. Speaking at the interaction, Alagudu Shivakumar of Dalita Sangharsha Samithi said that they also oppose the bill since it will affect the lives of many, including those engaged in leather and bag manufacturing.