Farmer groups protest against ‘anti-labour, anti-farmer’ laws

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Farmer groups from across the state, affiliated to the trade union of the Communist Party of India Marxist - Leninist CPIM(L) gathered at Freedom Park on Monday to protest against the laws laid out by both the central and state governments.

The protest, which was led by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) and Joint Committee of Central Trade Unions (JCCTU), saw increased footfall on Monday, as farmer leaders like Badagalpura Nagendra, and Vijuu Krishnan joined the protesting groups, who were mainly Dalits, minorities and youth along with farmers from across the state.

The farmers wanted both the governments to repeal the recently amended laws. Earlier, in a letter addressed to Chief Minister Siddaramiah, the leaders had expressed their disappointment in not repealing the ‘anti-labour policies’ set by the then BJP government.

“The government needs to withdraw the amendments of the land reforms act,” Nagendra told News Trail.

The convenor of this protest explained that the amendment allowed unrestricted acquisition of land, posing a threat to their livelihood.

“The matter remains to be discussed, despite the Congress promising the same before they came to power,” he said.

An activist and a writer Vijuu Krishnan alleged that the farmers are being duped, and are paid very less.

“This pro-corporate central government has looted the farmers. Supermarkets run by conglomerates sell their products at exorbitant rates and keep the profits to themselves.” he said.

Krishnan also alleged that the farmers are paid much less than promised. “In the PM-Kisan Scheme, Rs 9000 is promised to the farmers. However, they only get around Rs 4000 to Rs 5000," he alleged.

The protest, which was scheduled as a 72 hour long sit in, is set to conclude on Tuesday. Talks of protest outside Rajbhavan have loomed amongst the convenors. Police were deployed around the premises, to avoid any untoward incidents.

The Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) ensured smooth flow of traffic. At the same venue the Bengaluru Climate Action Plan was unveiled to the public. Chief Commissioner of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Tushar Girinath did not turn up for the event.