Farmers to hold tractor rally in Bengaluru on Republic Day

Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha leader Kodihalli Chandrashekhar said they will go ahead with the tractor rally in Bengaluru on Republic Day in solidarity with their counterparts in Delhi. Instead of heeding to farmers’ demands, the Centre is pushing half-hearted solutions. Similarly, Karnataka farmers feel the state government is also pushing farmers into a corner by adopting the laws, along with the prohibition on cow slaughter.

Farm sector being opened up for cronies, say farmer leaders

The governments have targeted to open up the farming sector for their crony friends, and Karnataka was among the first to come out with ordinances for these anti-farmer laws. We will protest until they are revoked,” Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) leader Kodihalli Chandrashekhar asserted. Chandrashekar said the rally will start in Bengaluru right after the Republic Day address by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and will be taken out through the main roads in the city to culminate at Freedom Park. 

In Shivamogga, KRRS and Hasiru Sene honorary president H R Basavarajappa said that farmers will take out a parade in the state capital in their tractors, bullock carts, and other vehicles. Farmers from across the state, the Dalit Sangharsha Samiti, Karnataka Janashakthi Vedike, and other organisations have extended their support. Well-known writers and authors from across the state will take part as well, he said.

Basavarajappa noted that around 25,000 to 30,000 farmers will take part in the parade and from the Shivamogga district, more than 1,000 farmers are expected to take part. Karnataka Janshakti Vedike secretary K L Ashok, in a press release, stated that 2,000 farmers from each district will participate in the massive Republic Day parade in Bengaluru.