Criticising the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) government in the State for its ‘reluctance’ to waive farm loans borrowed from cooperative financial institutions and nationalised banks, the Bharatiya Janata Party has alleged that Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy was deliberately postponing the issue in his bid to escape from his much-hyped pre-poll promise.
At a protest rally organised in Kalaburagi on Thursday, BJP leaders attacked the State government over farm loan waiver.
“The coalition government has not yet taken off. It is in sound sleep when the people are suffering. Since the alliance partners are spending most of their time settling disputes within the alliance, they have little time to heed the farmers’ issues,” Malikayya Guttedar, a BJP leader from Afzalpur, said during the protest staged outside the district administrative complex.
Ambaraya Ashtagi, vice-president of BJP rural district unit, said that the Chief Minister “shed crocodile tears” over farm loan waiver just to “mislead the people and gain their sympathy.” “If the government was really concerned about the crisis-ridden farmers, it would have waived farm loan by now. The fact, however, it is least interested in addressing the issue. Farmers are struggling hard to withstand the harsh drought. They are facing drinking water and fodder crisis. Their crops were destroyed. Yet, no relief activity is seen in the rural areas,” Mr. Ashtagi said.
B.G. Patil and Doddappagowda S. Patil Naribol, presidents of Kalaburagi Urban and Rural units respectively, submitted a memorandum to the office of Deputy Commissioner.
Their demands included payment of sugarcane growers’ dues, Central Investigation Bureau investigation into the alleged irregularities in DCC Bank, curbing sand mafia in the district, declaring Aland taluk as drought hit, opening green-gram procurement centres, repairing Kallur-Chinnamalli bridge-cum-barrage across Bhima River in Jevargi and Afzalpur taluks and commencing the canal works at Balabatti and Jamakhandi in Mallabad Lift Irrigation project.
