BELAGAVI: Accusing the Centre of failing to fulfil its promises to sugarcane growers, Karnataka Raitha Sangha president Chunappa Pujari has called for a highway blockade protest from 11 am on October 13.
He also demanded the resignation of Union Minister Pralhad Joshi if the farmers’ demands could not be met. Pujari said a meeting between sugarcane growers and the Union government in New Delhi had ended in failure, with farmers returning empty-handed despite travelling to the national capital in the hope of securing a resolution to their long-pending demands.
“The government called farmers to Delhi in the name of negotiations but failed to take any concrete decision. Even the demand for a minimum support price has not been addressed. We will no longer tolerate delays in the name of assurances,” he said.
Accusing the Centre of wasting time through repeated discussions instead of delivering a concrete solution, Pujari said merely holding meetings with farmers did not absolve the government of its responsibility to address their grievances. “Farmers were promised a solution, but those assurances have not translated into action.
This is a betrayal and an insult to sugarcane growers. If Joshi cannot honour the commitments made to farmers, he should resign,” he demanded.
