Workers of the Karnataka Kisan Congress staged a demonstration at the Cantonment Railway Station here protesting the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Led by the State Congress working president Eshwar Khandre and Karnataka Kisan Congress chief Sachin Miga, they took out a rally from the Congress office to the Cantonment railway station.
Holding placards against the Centre’s economic policies and RCEP, the workers raised slogans against the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Police thwarted their attempt to stage a sit-in at the railway station and stop trains.
Later addressing the protestors, Mr. Khandre said the UPA government had waived farm loans worth ₹75,000 crore, whereas the BJP floated a scheme providing a meagre sum of ₹6,000 annually to the farmers.
“Through this RCEP, the BJP government at the Centre is directly targeting the farmers. The government is out to destroy the country’s economy completely,” Mr. Khandre said.
The State Congress on Sunday had warned the Centre against signing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) without holding wider consultations.
The RCEP — a mega free trade agreement — was being negotiated among 10 ASEAN countries with their six FTA partners (India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the pact should be mutually beneficial to all parties.
