Chamarasa Malipatil, State president of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS), said that Aam Aadmi Party rebel leader Yogendra Yadav, renowned environmental activist Medha Patkar and Lingaraj from Puducherry, would participate in the huge farmers’ rally against the Union government’s Land Acquisition Ordinance, at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on April 28.
He was addressing a joint press conference of various farmers’ organisations and Dalit groups here on Sunday.
He said that a padayatra against Union government’s Land Acquisition Ordinance, which had begun from Naragunda village on April 8, would culminate with a huge agitation in Bengaluru. “Over one lakh farmers from different parts of the State are expected to participate in the agitation. Ms. Patkar, Mr. Yadav and Mr. Lingaraj would address the farmers,” he said.
PM criticised
Mr. Malipatil alleged that Union government did not feel it fit to talk to farmers who had arrived from different parts of the country and staged a demonstration outside Jantar Mantar in New Delhi for three days last month.
“Since no representative from the Union Government met the farmers, they had to submit a memorandum to the President and return to their home States. Prime Minister Narendra Modi who did not talk to farmers, when the latter were agitating at his door step, is now talking to them through the All India Radio,” he said. Mr. Malipatil criticised the State government’s decision to pay compensation at Rs. 13,000 per hectare to farmers who suffered crop loss in the recent pre-monsoon downpour.
“Farmers have spent a minimum of Rs. 60,000 for growing paddy on each hectare. The government is insulting the farmers by paying compensation at Rs. 13,000 per hectare,” he said. He demanded that the government pay compensation to affected farmers at Rs. 20,000 an acre for paddy and Rs. 40,000 an acre for chilli.
Compensation
Mr. Malipatil also demanded the constitution of a permanent fund in each State for exclusively paying compensation to people who have suffered losses in natural calamities. “A permanent compensation fund with an initial amount of Rs. 25,000 crores, to be equally contributed by Union government and the concerned State government, should be constituted in each State ,” he said.
