Farmer’s death rocks Karnataka assembly

IANS/Belgaum

The Karnataka legislature yesterday witnessed a ruckus and disruptions by opposition parties who sought a judicial probe into the suicide of a debt-ridden farmer near the state secretariat here, about 500km from Bangalore.

In a damage control exercise, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told lawmakers that the state government had increased the minimum purchase price for sugarcane by Rs150 to Rs2,650 per tonne this fiscal (2013-14).

“The increase in the purchase price is above Rs2,500 per tonne the state sugarcane purchase and supply control board fixed on November 9 and notified on November 23, which is higher than the fair and remunerative price (FRP) of Rs2,100 per tonne fixed by the central government on the basis of 9.5% recovery for this fiscal,” Siddaramaiah said.

Blaming the state government for the crisis brewing in the farming community, especially among sugarcane growers, opposition leaders and former chief ministers H D Kumaraswamy of the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), Jagadish Shettar of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and B S Yeddyurappa of the Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) slammed the chief minister for delaying the hike in the minimum purchase price.

“Had the government been sensitive to the plight of farmers and announced the hike earlier, a precious life would have been saved,” Kumaraswamy said, referring to the death of Vittal Arabhavi (52), a sugarcane farmer from Kanakawadi village in Belgaum district.

Arabhavi on Wednesday consumed poison near the secretariat and collapsed at the spot where hundreds of farmers have been agitating, since the 10-day winter session of the state legislature began on Monday, for non-payment of dues by mills and higher sugarcane price.

Relentless slogan-shouting and demonstrations in the well of the house forced assembly Speaker Kagodu Thimappa to adjourn the proceedings thrice during the day and finally the day’s session at 5pm.

Meanwhile, the chief minister held an emergent cabinet meeting in the secretariat to discuss the opposition’s demand to order a judicial probe into Arabhavi’s death. The state government late yesterday ordered a magisterial inquiry into the farmer’s suicide.

As the third largest producer in the country after Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, Karnataka crushes 33mn tonnes of cane in 58 mills to produce 3.4mn tonnes of sugar annually, with 10.4% recovery.

Shettar, also BJP’s floor leader, alleged that the state government had succumbed to pressure from mills on the price issue as a couple of ministers in the Congress government also owned sugar factories in the region.

BJP lawmakers led by former chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda, former home minister R Ashoka and Shettar took out a protest rally around the secretariat, wearing black ribbons.