In a blow to the newly formed JDS-Congress government in Karnataka, the farmers in the state have decided to hold a protest against the government over delay in announcement of farm loan waiver. Hundreds of farmers, under the banner of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene, will take to streets in Mandya, to stage a protest outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office against the failure of providing any solutions related to farm distress.
It is interesting to see that, the protests are being held by farmers of the Old-Mysore region, where JDS party led by H D Kumaraswamy had won a large number of seats in recent elections. The farmers have accused the Chief Minister of forgetting his promises of loan waivers that he had made during the election campaign. Kumaraswamy had said that he would waive off all the loans within 24 hours of coming to power.
The state has received a good amount of rainfall this year; water levels have risen in almost all reservoirs. The farmers are waiting for the provision of credit to begin sowing, which picks up by the beginning of July in the state.
However, the protest is not supported by another faction of the KRRS. Kodihalli Chandrashekhar, president of the KRRS, said while his faction does not support the protest, they are equally running out of patience with the government.
Kumaraswamy struggling to fulfill his promise to waive off loans had sought Centre’s help to solve the crisis. He had urged the government to provide 50 percent financial support for the initiative.
It seems that the present JDS-Congress coalition government has now got the taste of its own medicine, as the farmers have started protested against them. Earlier BJP had demanded H D Kumaraswamy to fulfil his promise of farmers loan waive-off.
Moreover, Chief Minister Kumaraswamy is at the mercy of Congress president Rahul Gandhi as soon after becoming Chief Minister took a different stand by saying that any decision regarding farmers loans can only be taken with Congress’s approval. He had said that he came to power with the blessings of the Congress rather than people.
