Mangaluru: Members of the Raitha Sangha, Prantha Raitha Sangha, Dalita Sanghatanegalu, Hasiru Sene, Vidyarthi Yuva, and the Karavali Karnataka Janabhivridhi Vedike joined hands to stage a protest on December 8 at the Nanthoor Circle in the city, against the farm laws enacted the by the Union Government.
Speaking on the occasion, Hasiru Sene state secretary Ravikirana Punacha said that the farm laws will adversely affect the farmers, as well as labourers and consumers. Corporates will take away the land owned by farmers, he said, adding that the farm laws are dangerous for all.
While the members of the aforementioned organisations and some members of the general public blocked the road at Nanthoor, members of the Mangaluru Bunder Shramikara Sangha staged a protest at Karmika Katte in Old Port.
It can be recalled that various farmers’ unions called for a Bharat bandh on Tuesday, December 8, against three controversial farm laws. On Monday, farmers’ organisations in Karnataka announced their support for the bandh and also said that they will participate in the bandh on Tuesday, as well as call for a bandh on Wednesday in Bengaluru.
The three farm laws that are being opposed by the farmers are: Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020. They have claimed that these laws will end the Minimum Support Price (MSP) model in the future and will give corporates total control over the agriculture sector.
In Karnataka, protests have been held in some parts but the overall response to the bandh remained lukewarm.
In Mangaluru, KSRTC, private and city buses operated as usual and hotels and other business establishments were open.
Update: Political leaders, activists join farmers’ protest
Farmers’ Organizations, Congress leaders, Kissan Congress, CPM, CPIM, and DYFI, and a large number of social activists, staged a protest by blocking the National Highway near the Nanthoor Circle. The blockade lasted for 10 minutes, as permitted by the police department.
Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Hasiru Sene Raithara Sangha district president Oswald Prakash Fernandes spoke of how the income of farmers has not increased over the years, while the income of the politicians and middlemen has doubled. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a lockdown and asked people to sit at home, while he amended this bill, which looks suspicious. What is worse is that the government did not consult the concerned persons before passing the three bills, which shows that it is definitely ‘anti-farmer’,” he said.
KPCC spokesperson and former MLC Ivan D’Souza, who was also present, said that by introducing such bills, the government has shown that it does not want the farmers to be happy. The government instead wants to make corporate wigs happy. “The government is putting farmers in hardship, and when they come forward with their demands, the government introduces policies which are against farmers,” he said, accusing the government of not making time to meet the farmers.
“They need the farmers only during elections for their valuable votes. This is how farmers are being neglected. We urge the Union Government to scrap the three farm laws before the protests and unrest increase,” he added.
DYFI state president Muneer Katipalla gave a brief introduction after the blockade.
Despite the protest and the blockade, the people were not inconvenienced thanks to the efforts and the arrangements made by the Mangaluru City Police.
Raithara Sangha leaders Balakrishna Shetty and Manoj Shetty, CPI-M leader Vasanth Acharya, Farmers’ Association leader K Yadav Shetty, Kissan Congress District President Mohan Gowda, Congress Mahila Party leader Shalet Pinto, former MCC Mayor Alfred Jacintha, former MLA Moideen Bawa, and others were present.
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