While the issue of long-pending dues to sugarcane farmers by sugar mills, and the spate of farmers’ suicides led to protests outside the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, it did not stall the legislature session, as expected, in a thinly-attended opening day of the legislature session in the border district of Belagavi.
Contrary to expectations, the proceedings were low-key, with various leaders holding forth on the issue in both the Upper and Lower Houses for most of the day.
Members of the Bharatiya Janata Party staged a dharna in the Legislative Assembly as soon as the House met, demanding that transactions commence only after clearing the dues. However, they returned to their places when Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa allowed a debate.
Leader of Opposition Jagadish Shettar said several farmers had committed suicide owing to anti-farmer policies pursued by the government. The Agriculture Price Commission had done nothing to fix prices for cane growers or other commodities, he said.
Later in the day, Minister for Higher Education and Tourism R.V. Deshpande said the government was ready to hold talks with the farmers, who have been agitating outside the Suvarna Vidhan Soudha. He said the government had sent a message to the leaders of the agitating farmers inviting them for talks.
When Mr. Shettar raised the issue of the government arresting the agitating farmers, Home Minister K.J. George said the police have only taken them into custody, but no cases will be filed against them. Mr. George also said the government would initiate steps to withdraw nearly 3,000 cases filed against the farmers who held protests during the last legislative session.
‘Auction sugar and pay’ In the Legislative Council too, the discussion was taken up before the Question Hour under Rule 68. Opening the debate, Leader of Opposition K.S. Eshwarappa demanded that the government pay the dues out of its own coffers and then recover it by auctioning the sugar seized from defaulting mills to stop the “serial suicide” of farmers.
He argued that the government had already seized 7,80,000 tonnes of sugar from factories, which would fetch the government Rs. 1,575 crore at the rate of Rs. 20 a kg. “Pay the dues first, then recover it by auctioning the sugar at the earliest,” he said.
The debate in both the Houses kept getting derailed through the day, with the Congress and Opposition parties blaming each other for the current state of affairs.
‘Lottery’ Chief Minister
Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council K.S. Eshwarappa saying that Siddaramaiah became the Chief Minister “as if by lottery” led to a furore in the Legislative Council. The ruling party members said Mr. Siddaramaiah had got elected and to call it “lottery” was an insult to the electoral process. Mr. Eshwarappa tried to explain that the Congress had come to power at a time when the BJP was split and it was “like lottery”.
‘Straighten lending policy’
Senior Congress MLA Ramesh Kumar on Monday took the role of Opposition like he often does in the Legislative Assembly. He questioned the agriculture lending policy of the Karnataka government. He said it was necessary to find out if the money being lent was indeed reaching needy farmers.
