Vijayapura: Noted activist S. R. Hiremath has demanded the State Government to repeal three farm laws formulated in the past.
Addressing mediapersons on Saturday March 5 after participating in the rally by Janandolanagal Maha Maitri (JMM), which is the umbrella body of various progressive organisations, he said that the State Government must not delay in repealing the laws. He said that the Central Government has already withdrawn all the three farm laws but the State Government is yet to abrogate them here.
“We are staging a state-wide rally appealing to the State Government to withdraw the anti-farm laws at the earliest. This jatha has been kick-started from Bidar and has now reached Vijayapura and will culminate in Bengaluru on March 15,” he said.
Mentioning three farm laws, he said that, Karnataka Land Reforms (Amendments) Act 1961, Karnataka Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act 1966 and Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act 2020 were enacted by the government in 2020. Apart from repealing it, the government should take measures in solving the agrarian crisis like providing Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops in an effective manner,” urged Hiremath, who is convenor of JMM.
He said that the rally is also being launched in Chamarajnagara under the headship of writer and activist Devanoor Mahadev, which will also conclude in Bengaluru. “The rally is not just being carried out by the progressive outfits but also various farmers’, women’s and Dalit associations have expressed full support for JMM,” added Hiremath.
He further said that, “We will carry out this agitation till the State Government repeal the farm laws. Even several BJP MLAs including Dattatreya Patil Revor, chairman of Kalyana Karnataka Development Board, were surprised about the government delaying in revoking these anti-farm laws. We have also sought the appointment of Chief Minister on the last day of the jatha, where we are planning to chair a detailed discussion about these laws and enlighten the government about the problems being faced by farmers with the implementation of these laws in the State.”
He also expressed unhappiness over increasing communal tensions, malnutrition, and unemployment in the country.
Bheemshi Kaladagi, Bhagwan Reddy, Akram Mashyalkar and other activists from various outfits were present.
