Karnataka   

Ministers insensitive to farm woes: Kharge

CHINCHOLI (GULBARGA DISTRICT): Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly M. Mallikarjun Kharge has taken serious exception to repeated statements by Agriculture Minister S.A. Ravindranath that it was not the inability to get fertilizers that drove Hirebidari Ajjappa, a farmer in Davangere district, to suicide. The statements are nothing but an insult to farmers, he said.

Mr. Kharge arrived here on Friday in a private helicopter to pay condolences to the family of Veershetty Kanna, a farmer of Polakpalli village in Chincholi taluk who committed suicide by consuming pesticide on Wednesday night because he was unable to get fertilizer. He told presspersons that he was shocked by the insensitivity of Bharatiya Janata Party Ministers to the serious issue.

Mr. Kharge said officials were reluctant to pay compensation of Rs. 1 lakh due to the family of Veershetty Kanna on the grounds that he had no land in his name.

He reiterated that the Congress did not want to politicise the issue of shortage of fertilizers and suicide by farmers, but the insensitive and irresponsible statements of the BJP Ministers would only add fuel to the fire and force farmers to take the law into their own hands.

The Congress leader said his party would not only support the farmers’ agitation but would also launch a separate agitation against the State Government if it continued its irresponsible attitude towards the problems faced by farmers.

Mr. Kharge said the Congress would move an adjournment motion in the Assembly session beginning on June 23 and seek an explanation from the Government. The mishandling of the situation only proved the BJP’s lack of experience in running the Government. “If you are not in a position to handle such a situation, the Government should have the courtesy to consult the Opposition in such crucial matters,” he said.

He expressed shock over the Chief Secretary’s admission in a letter to the Union Government that there had been some problems in the distribution of fertilizers supplied to the State by the Centre.

He said the Union Government had also made it clear that the State Government had not fully utilised the fertilizers that had been supplied to Karnataka so far.

The demand for fertilizers in the State might be more than what had been supplied so far, but even the available fertilizers were not being distributed based on sowing activities in different parts of the State.

The Government should have taken into account rainfall data and details of sowing before rushing fertilizers to these areas.

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