Police stopped members of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene who tried to lay siege to district in-charge Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi’s home in Gokak by breaking police barricades on Thursday.
They were protesting against amendments to the APMC Act and the Karnataka Land Reforms Act. They said that these measures would completely privatise farming and farm markets and reduce independent farmers to labourers working for large corporations.
They also demanded that the criminal cases filed against farmers by successive governments be withdrawn.
A group of farmers gathered in the road in front of Mr. Jarkiholi’s residence and began marching to his house. The town police, who knew about the protest, had erected barricades on the road at a distance from his main gate.
The farmers got into an argument with the police at the spot and asked them to allow a peaceful protest in front of the Minister’s house.
They raised slogans accusing the government of enforcing anti-farmer rules and policies. They tried to push the barricades and jump over them to reach his house. However, police stopped them half-way. The police, however, allowed them to hold a protest rally on the road. Farmers’ leaders Choonappa Pujari and Basavaraj Patil addressed the protesters.
They urged the government to withdraw the ordinances amending APMC Act and the land reforms Act.
