The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Raitha Morcha has decided to stage a dharna outside the Deputy Commissioner’s offices in all the districts from June 22, if Chief Minister Siddaramaiah fails to waive loans of farmers during the legislative session, according to BJP Raitha Morcha State vice-president Shivaprasad.
Speaking at a district working committee meeting of the BJP Raitha Morcha here on Sunday, he said that even after repeated appeals, the State government is not taking the problems of farmers seriously and it is insulting them by given ₹ 1 as compensation. To protest against the State government, the BJP Raitha Morcha has decided to stage a protest outside the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on July 10.
Though the State faced drought in the last four years, the government has not taken any steps to implement relief works. Instead of taking steps to waive loans taken by farmers to stop them from committing suicide, the Chief Minister is trying to misguide the people by issuing statements that the State government would waive farm loans only if the Union government waives 50 % of the loans, he added.
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During the BJP government in the State, the government had taken steps to waive loans of farmers up to ₹ 3,000 crore and the government had not pointed fingers at the Union government. “The Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh governments have taken steps to waive loans of farmers in those States, but Mr. Siddaramaiah is not ready to do so. It clearly shows the concern the government has towards farmers,” he added.
BJP district unit president K.S. Naveer was present.