Friday, Feb 14, 2003
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Karnataka
By Our Staff Correspondent
Speaking at a public function at Koppal town today, he said that the Union Government had "maintained silence" over the deaths of farmers, who had been forced to commit suicide following the loss of crops. It had continued its policies though it was aware about the worsening situation in the farm sector in the wake of the drought in the past two years. Criticising the "inaction" of the Centre in protecting the interest of farmers, Mr. Gowda said farmers were in distress owing to the lack of rainfall. They had been demanding that the Centre announce waiver of agricultural loans and release funds for the payment of compensation to the families of farmers who were affected. However, the Government had failed to respond to the demand. None of the Parliamentarians had any interest in raising their voice against the "misrule" of the coalition government at the Centre, he alleged, and said the Vajpayee Government was focusing on Hindutva and on spreading the communal message in the country, he said.
Krishna, Naidu criticised
Criticising the Governments of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, he said that the Chief Ministers — S. M. Krishna and N. Chadrababu Naidu — were in competition against each other in supporting the development of information technology and in rolling out the red carpet for tycoons such as Bill Gates. He said they had not bothered to understand the problems faced by agriculturists in their States. They had allegedly adopted anti-farmer policies by abolishing subsidies on fertilizers and power. The State governments had failed to bring pressure on the Centre to adopt agricultural policies which would protect the interest of farmers. Instead, they had encouraged the Centre to speed up disinvestment from public sector undertakings, which had resulted in a lack of employment opportunities, he added. The president of the State unit of the JD(S), Siddaramaiah, said that his party had been at the forefront in protecting the interest of the farmers. Other parties which ruled the country had taken decisions against farmers. The people, especially farmers, had been experiencing difficulties since the Congress came into power in the State, he added. Mr. Siddaramaiah alleged that the Krishna Government had encouraged the liquor lobby by bowing to the demands of excise dealers. It had waived a huge amount of interest on excise dues. It had also reduced taxes on IT products and increased the prices of foodgrains distributed through fair price shops. The Government had withdrawn subsidies for the agriculture sector and that had affected the interest of farmers. Mr. Siddaramaiah said that the continuing power shortage in rural areas had affected agricultural activities. The misrule of the Congress Government had affected the economy of the State, and huge loans had been taken from the World Bank. Such a Government should not continue in office, he added. The former Ministers and senior leaders of the party, A. Laxmisagar, Kodandaramaiah, N.M. Nabi, Thippeswamy, and C.M. Ibrahim spoke. Mr. Deve Gowda announced the induction of the former minister, Veerupakshappa Agadi, into the JD(S). K .Sharanappa, former MLA, Hanumangouda Belgurki, JD(S) State unit General Secretary, and Hanumanthappa Angadi, President of the Raichur unit of the party, were present.
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