Pressing for waiver of farm loans, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday said it would launch the second phase of the Raitha Chaitanya Yatra in October to pressure the Congress government to come to the aid of farmers reeling under drought.
Addressing a gathering at the valedictory function of the first phase of the yatra here, the former Chief Minister and BJP national vice-president B.S. Yeddyurappa said the Siddaramaiah government had done precious little for farmers who were in distress due to crop loss and loan burden.
Making out a case for complete waiver of farm loans, he said farmers continued to commit suicide in the State while the government remained insensitive to their plight.
The second phase of the yatra was necessary to awaken the government from its “sleep”, Mr. Yeddyurappa said.
The first phase of the yatra, which began on August 31 in Haveri, passed through 57 taluks across the State before reaching Mysuru.
The function turned out to be an occasion for BJP leaders to slam the Congress government for not only the farm crisis, but also for the power crisis gripping the State.
Earlier, BJP national general secretary P. Muralidhar Rao, who is also in-charge of the Karnataka affairs, sought to know from the Congress the reason behind its national vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s failure to tour Karnataka even though more than 400 farmers had reportedly committed suicide. “When he can tour BJP-ruled States such as Gujarat, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, why can’t he visit Karnataka, where farmers are committing suicide?,” he asked.
Mr. Rao also sought to clarify that the BJP was not trying to play any politics over the Kalasa-Banduri Nala project.
BJP’s State unit president Pralhad Joshi said he would soon write a letter to Minister for Water Resources M.B. Patil on the need to take an all-party delegation to Goa to discuss the project.
