Protests were seen on Friday across the state against the Farm Bills passed in the parliament. Farmers have been arguing that the bills are not in their interest, protests were witnessed in UP, Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
While the government has been firm about the bills being beneficial to the farmers, the opposition has joined the protests. In Karnataka, too parties joined protests in Bengaluru and on the Mysuru-Bengaluru highway as well as in the city.
AAP protests at Mysore Bank Circle, Bengaluru
On Friday morning, The Aam Aadmi Party launched a massive protest in the Mysore Bank circle, Bengaluru condemning the farmer, labour and anti-grassroots amendments that have been amended by the state government.
A press release from the party stated, "The state government has forgotten its originality and is working like a slave government, pushing the idea of a union system. The state government, which is going to approve more than 30 bills, including the Agricultural Product Markets (Regulation and Development) Act Amendment, the Land Reform Act, and the Labor Act, is doing worse than the Nazi government."
"The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has strongly condemned the central government's actions," Mohan Dasari, President of AAP Bengaluru said.
The party further said, "More than 90 per cent of the farmers are struggling without proper marketing facilities, all of whom have no doubts that the amendment will make them private. The Aam Aadmi Party strongly condemns the new amendment, aimed at dismantling the support price and making the peasants into beggars, landlords, and back to the feudal system."
The party is also protesting the land reforms bill. Protestors were detained during the protests, even along the Mysuru-Bengaluru highway, where more than 100 protestors were arrested and later released.
State government's stand on protests
Meanwhile, as protests intensify, the state government still believes the bills will lead the way forward. The farmers have gone ahead to push for a September 28th Karnataka Bandh on Monday.
Karnataka CM Yediyurappa told the media, "I have asked some of the leaders of the farmers groups to come and meet me in the afternoon. I will have discussions with them. I have said over and over again that only 2 per cent of the land can be used for industrial purpose. Anyone who buys irrigated land will have to use it the same way - as irrigated land. That is a condition. There will be no problem for the farmers. They may have been misinformed."
Even the central government has resolutely said that the bills will eventually benefit small farmers.
