Bengaluru, July 14 (IANS) Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) patriarch H.D. Deve Gowda on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on the Karnataka government over the incident of violence linked to the proposed Bidadi Township Project.

He demanded that the FIRs registered against protesting farmers be withdrawn immediately and urged the government to scrap the project. He warned that if the government ignored his appeal, he would be forced to launch a satyagraha in front of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue at Vidhana Soudha.

Addressing a press conference, Deve Gowda said the violence that occurred during the Joint Measurement Survey (JMC) in Mandalahalli village on Monday was unfortunate. He appealed to the government to understand the plight of farmers instead of criminalising them.

He appealed to the government to withdraw the FIRs filed against the farmers, adding that the police should understand the pain and suffering of farmers. He noted that the survey has now been halted, and welcomed that decision, but said the government must go a step further and scrap the Bidadi Township Project.

The former Prime Minister said he had written to Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on June 25, detailing the concerns of farmers and requesting that the project be reconsidered.

He said nearly 20 days had passed, but he had not even received an acknowledgement of his letter. He added that he wrote not as an MP or a political leader, but as the son of a farmer, and hoped the Chief Minister, who also calls himself a farmer’s son, would read the letter and understand the concerns of small farmers.

Deve Gowda said the proposed township would adversely affect 2,555 small and marginal farmers, many of whom depend on agriculture and dairy farming for their livelihood. They cultivate fodder for their cattle, and around 60,000 litres of milk are produced every day in the region, he added.

Referring to the survey-related violence, Deve Gowda said no one had suffered serious injuries, but questioned why the situation had been allowed to escalate.

He alleged that the present government had revived a project that was shelved during H.D. Kumaraswamy’s tenure following public opposition. When Kumaraswamy proposed the township earlier, the Congress opposed it, constituted a fact-finding committee and forced the project to be dropped. Today, the same Congress government is implementing it after issuing the final notification, he said.

He questioned why the government had hurriedly initiated land acquisition barely a month after D.K. Shivakumar assumed office as Chief Minister. Siddaramaiah never sent officials to acquire this land, he noted, adding that within a month of becoming Chief Minister, D.K. Shivakumar had initiated the process and people knew the reason behind it.

The Bidadi Township Project has become one of the biggest political flashpoints in Karnataka, with the state government defending it as a major urban development initiative, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), JD(S) and a section of farmers have intensified their opposition, alleging that the project would deprive thousands of farmers of their fertile agricultural land and livelihoods.

–IANS

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