Clarion India
BANGALURU – Hundreds of farmers, labourers and members of Dalit organisations Monday held a protest at Bengaluru’s Anand Rao Circle against the new farm Bills passed by the Centre and land legislations proposed by the Karnataka government.
The protesters then moved to Freedom Park, where a conference was held on these issues, reported Indian Express.
“Everyone in the agrarian community is against these legislations, including those proposed in the Karnataka Assembly. The Karnataka land reforms amendment Act is not a land reform but a deform,” Swaraj India president Yogendra Yadav said.
Among others who addressed the protesters were 102-year-old freedom fighter H S Doreswamy and Kavitha Kuruganti of the Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture. Protesters assembled under the banner of ‘Aikya Horata’, which translates to United Struggle. The organisations supporting the agitation are the Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangha (state farmers’ association), Dalit Sangharsha Samiti, and 29 other bodies representing Dalits and labourers from the state.
With several protesters from across the state marching in groups from railway stations to the protest sites, volunteers were seen reminding them to maintain social distancing in view of the Covid-19 situation.
One such protester, a woman farmer from rural Karnataka, alleged that the government was trying to help private players exploit farmers. “Now that they have plum posts, agriculture Minister B C Patil and the BJP government in Karnataka seem to have forgotten that farmers too need to survive. Those expected to represent the people are now trying to represent only the rich,” she said.
