Amidst protests by farmers, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Monday said he was ready for changes to the legislation to help farmers if its leaders came for consultations.
“I appeal to farmers’ leaders not to push members of their fraternity into unnecessary confusion, and instead come for talks with me again,” he told a press conference here.
He alleged that farmers’ leaders who met him earlier did not offer any suggestions. “They were not willing for discussions as they had already made up their mind to hold a protest,” he said. “Let them come for consultations at least now.”
At the same time, he maintained that both the legislation had been amended in the interest of farmers. “The amendments to the APMC Act would remove restrictions that farmers should sell their produce only at APMCs. They are free to sell anywhere and to anybody for remunerative prices,” he said.
He said farmers were “in the clutches of middlemen” in APMC yards. However, APMCs would not be abolished, he said, and reiterated that the payment of minimum support price through revolving fund operated from the cess collected from APMCs would not be affected. Similarly, amendment to the Land Reforms Act had ensured that anybody could take up farming, the Chief Minister said. He pointed out that the government had retained the earlier land ceiling.
The amendments had imposed conditions, such as not using irrigated land for other purposes, barring purchasing of land belonging to SC/ST communities for non-agricultural purposes, he said. Using the land, which is unfit for agriculture, to set up industries would help provide employment to thousands of people, he said.
He alleged that it was the Congress that had allowed private companies such as Reliance to sell farmers’ produce at their stalls. He appealed to farmers to wait for six months to a year to see the positive impact of amendments.
