Actively engage in farming, Siddaramaiah tells youth, women
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday urged farmers, youth, and women to actively engage in agriculture.
He also called for the restoration of the UPA-era rural employment scheme, MGNREGA under Mahatma Gandhi's name.
Addressing the three-day International Agriculture Fair, Siddaramaiah congratulated all recipients of the Agricultural Scholar awards, calling them role models for other farmers.
He emphasised that agriculture can be highly profitable if farmers move beyond mere crop production and participate in storage, processing, marketing, packaging, and value addition.
Highlighting government support, Siddaramaiah said Karnataka leads the nation in facilitating insurance claims and providing subsidies worth over Rs 1,000 crore.
According to an official statement, he noted that fair procurement prices for crops like sugarcane and maize have been ensured, with the state purchasing millions of metric tons to benefit farmers directly.
Stressing the importance of women and youth, Siddaramaiah said many women have already received awards, and their participation in agriculture and allied sectors should grow even further.
He called on young people to view agriculture not just as a livelihood but as a pathway to entrepreneurship and empowerment.
Siddaramaiah strongly criticized the central government's recent amendment to MGNREGA, which removed Mahatma Gandhi's name and renamed it the "Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Livelihood Mission (Gramin)."
He urged citizens to demand that the original scheme be restored to ensure 100 days of local employment for rural workers.
The chief minister added that India has achieved self-reliance in food production, and Karnataka continues to support farmers through subsidies, quality seeds, fertilizers, and welfare programs including free transport, financial assistance for women, and rice distribution under the Anna Bhagya program.
The CM called upon farmers, especially youth and women, to embrace modern agriculture, strive for excellence, and serve as inspiration for the next generation.
Agriculture Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy highlighted the government's initiatives to empower farmers and boost agricultural production in Karnataka, calling the fair a platform to introduce new schemes to the public.
Chauvarayaswamy said that while Karnataka produced 70-75 lakh metric tonnes of crops in 1970, current production has dropped to 40-60 per cent of demand, forcing the state to import essential commodities.
The minister emphasised that farmers must be able to earn profitable returns through consistent cultivation, branding, marketing, and access to credit facilities.
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Court can reject anticipatory bail but cannot direct accused to surrender: SC
New Delhi (PTI): A court can reject anticipatory bail of an accused but it has no jurisdiction to direct him to surrender before the trial court, the Supreme Court has said.
A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and Ujjal Bhuyan made the observation while hearing a plea filed by a man accused of cheating and forgery.
"If the court wants to reject the anticipatory bail, it may do so, but the court has no jurisdiction to say that the petitioner should now surrender," the bench said.
The Jharkhand High Court had rejected anticipatory bail plea of the accused and asked him to surrender and seek regular bail.
In this case, a complaint had been filed before a magistrate alleging offences under Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using forged document) and 120B read with 34 of the IPC, in connection with a land dispute.
The high court had dismissed the second anticipatory bail application of the accused on the ground that no new circumstances were shown.
It had relied on its earlier order rejecting his first anticipatory bail plea, in which the court directed the petitioner to surrender before the trial court and seek regular bail in terms of the decision in Satender Kumar Antil v. CBI.
The top court said such a direction was wholly without jurisdiction and said that if a court chooses to reject anticipatory bail, it may do so, but it cannot compel the accused to surrender.
