The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party members staged a walkout in the Legislative Council on Tuesday to protest against the arrest of a large number of sugarcane farmers by the government on Monday night for staging a dharna to demand full payment of the State Advisory Price for their produce by sugar factories.
While walking out, the protesting members shouted slogans against the government.
Raising the issue during the zero hour, Leader of the Opposition D.V. Sadananda Gowda accused the government of failing to keep its promise to direct the sugar factories to pay the full State Advisory Price of Rs. 2,500 a tonne.
But when the farmers were protesting against this, they had been arrested and lodged in jails, he said and urged the government to release them immediately.
Intervening in the discussion, Leader of the House S.R. Patil pointed out that the sugar factory owners had challenged the Government Order before the High Court of Karnataka. The matter was sub-judice , he said and added that it was not proper for the House to discuss an issue which was pending before court.
This enraged Mr. Sadananda Gowda who then accused the government of cheating sugarcane farmers in the name of the law and staged a walkout along with his party members.
The ruling Congress members too launched a counter attack saying that the BJP did not have the moral right to take up farmers’ issues as the police had opened fire against farmers when the BJP was in power in the State.
