Karnataka Minister sparks controversy, says ‘farmers wish for droughts as their loans get waived’
Bengaluru: Karnataka Minister for Sugar and Agriculture Marketing Shivanand Patil’s statement that farmers wish for repeated droughts in the state so that their loans get waived has caused a stir, with the opposition on Monday terming it as an ‘affront’ to the farming community and seeking his removal from the Ministry.
Coming down heavily on the Congress government over the remark, the BJP has urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to take his resignation.
Patil had in September stoked a controversy for his statement that cases of farmer suicides started rising after the compensation amount to the kin of the deceased was hiked from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.
Speaking at an event in Belagavi on Sunday, Patil said, “Krishna river water is free, current is also free. The Chief Minister also gave seeds and fertilizer. Farmers will only wish that there should be repeated droughts, because their loans will be waived. You should not wish that way — even if you don’t wish there will be drought once in three-four years.”
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Noting that the state was reeling under one of the worst droughts and CM Siddaramaiah has already announced waiver of interest on medium term loans, he said, “Some (CMs) had waived loans itself, I need not tell you that, whether Siddaramaiah or Kumaraswamy or Yediyurappa (as CMs) have waived farm loan in the past.”
The government will come to the rescue of farmers when they are in distress, but it is difficult for any dispensation to do it always, he said adding that “with all these forethoughts if we grow, certainly we will have a great future.”
Calling the Minister’s statement “irresponsible”, state BJP President B Y Vijayendra hit out at the Congress government in the state.
Recalling that Patil had made “arrogant” comments on farmers’ suicides in the past, the saffron party leader said, “Shivanand Patil has once again insulted the farmers. I urge the Chief Minister to immediately call him and expostulate him, and if he is not able to mend himself, take his resignation.”
Speaking to reporters here, Vijayendra said this attitude of Congress and its government against the farmers, who feed the country, is “unfortunate” and the BJP strongly condemns it.
Former BJP national General Secretary C T Ravi accused Patil of insulting farmers and farming culture by making such statements, and that he was not fit to continue as Minister even for a Minute.
Demanding Patil’s immediate removal, he said, “Making him continue as Minister will make Congress a party to his sins. This shows the height of intoxication of power. If the CM doesn’t act, people will act… farmers are not beggars, no one can tolerate such a statement.”
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Security scare at Delhi Assembly as SUV breaks through iron gate; 3 held, vehicle seized
New Delhi (PTI): In a major security breach at the Delhi Assembly, a masked man drove an SUV through one of the boundary gates, placed a flower bouquet outside the Speaker's office, and fled, triggering a high alert on Monday afternoon. Police later detained three people, including the driver, and seized the vehicle from north Delhi.
Multiple police teams, along with a bomb disposal squad, rushed to the site and conducted a thorough sweep of the area to rule out any threat, a police officer said.
The car, bearing an Uttar Pradesh registration number, entered the Assembly premises after breaking through Gate No. 2 at around 2 pm, officials said.
Since it is not the main gate, security is relatively less around it when the House is not in session, according to sources.
"The driver proceeded towards the office of Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta and placed a flower bouquet near the porch before rushing out in his vehicle," said a Delhi Secretariat official.
The incident raised "serious" security concerns, with authorities treating it as a potential "security breach", he said.
Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Ravindra Yadav reached the site soon after the incident and supervised the investigation.
Yadav said police checked CCTV camera footage in and around the area to reconstruct the sequence of events. Police teams were formed to track down the vehicle and its occupants, and alerts were flashed to adjoining states, with details of the suspected car shared with local police units.
Later, police apprehended three people, including the driver.
"Three people have been detained. The car was recovered, and the accused were caught in north Delhi," a police officer said.
Meanwhile, forensic experts examined the flower bouquet that was allegedly kept inside the assembly premises. The bomb disposal squad and dog squad conducted a thorough sweep of the area to rule out any explosive threat.
The incident comes close on the heels of bomb threats received by the Assembly during the recently concluded budget session.
